The Lost Get Found
by mcknight93
Summary: Takes place in the beginning of Tomb Raider Legend. Lara is traveling the world to figure out what happened to her mother. But what she didn't expect was that she would meet a super-soldier named John-117 in a crashed ship called the Forward Unto Dawn. Watch how two iconic characters clash in this crossover. The awesome picture rightfully belongs to: toughraid3r37890 on deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

**New Author's Notes: If you are reading this then, congratulations and thank you for finding the first rewritten chapter of my Halo/Tomb Raider crossover, The Lost Get Found. My writing has really improved over the short time, I have been... well writing. It hasn't even been a year yet since I started. **

**I went back and read what I have wrote, which gave me the idea that I should rewrite the chapters to make them better in grammar, ideas, story, and etc. I just basically want to make the story better. So I am rewritting all of the chapters to make them better in every single way possible than their predecessors. I will also be posting a teaser/trailer for the fifth chapter of this crossover. I will be able to post a full chapter once I update my Star Wars story, Hope From the Future.**

**So anyway, here is the first rewritten chapter. Now I didn't really change a lot in the first chapter since it is a retelling og how Halo 3 ended, but I did fix some grammar mistakes. The main difference in the chapter is the last paragraph. There wasn't a lot I could work with. This is a short chapter compared to what I normally post now which is well over 10,000 words. But it will have to do since there is not a whole lot to write about in the chapter.**

**Even though the retelling of the end of Halo 3 might be a little boring, I still think it is a little important to have it in there since some people might not know a lot about it. **

**Oh yeah, if anyone has noticed, I have slightly changed the title to the crossover. Instead of Tomb Raider: The Lost Get Found, it is now Halo/Tomb Raider: The Lost Get Found. I hope you guys know why I changed it, it should be obivious.**

**I hope you enjoy it and leave a review.**

**Old Author's Notes: I just wanna say FIRST! Tomb Raider and Halo crossover. This will be taking place on Lara's Earth during the beginning of Tomb Raider Legends.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to Bungie or 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

Prologue Chapter 1: The Ending that leads to a New Beginning

"That's it! Gun it Chief!" exclaimed Cortana

Master Chief then slammed his foot in the accelerator of the Warthog. The Warthog then made the jump towards the hangar of the UNSC frigate the "Forward Unto Dawn". The warthog bounced on impact with the hangar's floor, which caused it to flip and tumble further into the hangar.

The Elite and the Spartan recovered quickly from the crash, but soon the Dawn shifted to the right side of gravity. A Scorpion Tank began to slide towards the Arbiter, Thel Vadam then sprinted at a pile of crates to take cover. The UNSC tank then plowed right into the pile of crates. The Chief leaped over the Warthog and looked over to see the Arbiter digging out of the pile of crates unscathed. The Chief nodded at the Arbiter, and the Elite nodded back acknowledging the Spartan that he is alright. The Arbiter rushed to the bridge while Spartan-117 ran to the hangar panel and plugged in his trusted A.I. companion Cortana, so she can take control of this frigate. Cortana then appeared with her glowing, light blue, holographic form on the panel.

"Hang on!" the A.I. shouted.

Cortana ignited the thrusters at full burn and launched the Dawn at full speed away from the exploding Halo. The Chief grabbed onto the terminal, hanging on for dear life as the Dawn left Halo's atmosphere. As the Spartan tried to stay anchored, the Warthog flew out, which struck John on its way through the open hanger doors and out into empty space. The Chief flew off the panel, and then glided down the floor towards the doors, with the self-destructing Halo looming beneath. The Chief punched his fist hard into the floor to get a grip, halting near the back end of the hangar. Cortana reached out her arm towards him, scared of losing him.

"Chief!" Cortana yelled with worry in her voice.

The Scorpion flew out towards the Spartan. Seeing the tank looming towards him, Chief ducked his head just in time as the tank flew over him, narrowly missing the Chief. The Scorpion smashed the floor behind John-117 and fell back towards Halo. John began to climb back up to Cortana. After a few precious seconds passed, the Master Chief finally made it to the holotank that contained the A.I he went through the Flood infected High Charity.

Meanwhile, the Arbiter made it to the bridge and sat down at the controls.

Chief braced himself behind the panel. The Spartan reached his hand to the panel to recover Cortana's chip to plug her back into his helmet. The Spartan felt the cold sensation go through his body as his A.I. companion was once again in his MLJONIR Mark VI helmet.

"If we don't make it..." Cortana said sounding as if she was accepting death

"We'll make it." The luckiest Spartan replied confidence in his voice

"It's been an honor serving with you, John." Said the A.I. using Chief's real name for the first time in a really long time.

The Master Chief finally rested his head back, exhausted from the events that occurred on Earth,the Ark, High Charity, and the new Halo. The Halo Installation suddenly exploded, which engulfed the hangar in a binding white light. All goes blank as John closed his eyes.

**Earth**

There stood, on what is now UNSC's most important and respected memorial, Lord Hood, the Arbiter, and eight Marines armed with Battle Rifles.

Lord Hood now started one of mankind's greatest speeches. He took off his white military hat to pay respect for those who fallen and have made a huge contribute to the war.

"For us the stormed as passed. The war is over.'' Lord Hood bowed his head to show his endearment, "But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure…sacrifice, and unshakable conviction that their fight, our fight, was elsewhere."

Flashbacks of the front half of the "_Forward Unto Dawn" _crashed into one of Earth's oceans. The UNSC arrived quickly onto the scene of the wreck with emergency boats, Pelican dropships, and UNSC Frigates. An engineering crew cutted into the Dawn with torches on a section of torned frigate that survived the Ark. The Arbiter emerged from the wreckage, and he looked over the humans before him. Even after the battle with the Covenant Loyalist over Earth, the ocean still looked as beautiful as ever.

**Back at the memorial**

The Arbiter watched the memorial, the Elite stood solemnly with the Marines. He listened to the UNSC's leader say his speech for the human's heroes that died in action to the onslaught of the Covenant and the horror of the Flood, so humanity can live on.

"As we start to rebuild, this hillside will remain barren, a memorial to heroes fallen. They ennobled all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."

Admiral Hood placed his hat back on, and saluted. The Sergeant of this honorable memorial turned to the other marines present at the event.

The Sergeant issued orders to the marines, "Present arms!"

Seven Marines raised their Battle Rifles with the pride and each fire a single burst of three shots: a 3-volley salute. The view panned over the Ark Portal, now closed and silent.

Later, Hood and the Arbiter stood alone at the Memorial, which appeared to be a Pelican wing, decorated with pictures of the fallen, including Commander Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Major Avery Johnson and so many other soldiers that fought bravely for humanity.

"I remember how this war started. What your kind did to mine. I can't forgive you. But..."

Hood held out his hand to the Thel Vadam, the Arbiter.

"You have my thanks. For standing by him to the end." Lord said as he made a reference to the one who won them the war, Master Chief.

The Arbiter slowly shook Admiral Hood's hand with his own four fingered hand. After letting go, Hood turned to the memorial once more to look at a sad site that he thought he would never think they would ever see or really anyone would ever see, the Arbiter shared Lord Hood's sad gaze.

"Hard to believe he's dead." The UNSC leader said with sadness, still not wanting to believe the most famous Spartan, that won the war for the human race, is with other Spartans that are M.I.A. "_Maybe he can finally be at peace and be happy forever more_" Lord Hood thought.

The Elite in silver armor looked away towards the Assault Carrier, Shadow of Intent, which hovered silently in the sky of Earth.

"Were it so easy." The Arbiter finally spoke to Lord Hood. A phrase he said to Master Chief when he saw him on Earth, when the Spartan aimed a M9 Magnum at his throat.

Thel Vadam left the Memorial. His Separatist Phantom headed back to the Shadow of Intent, which still hovered in about the same position the Portal to the Ark once was. The Arbiter meet Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum on the bridge. The white armored Elite with some missing mandibles looked at a holographic image of a planet.

"Things look different, without the Prophets' lies clouding my vision. I would like to see our own world… to know that it is safe." Rtas 'Vadum said as if he is looking at his home world for the first time.

"Fear not. For we have made it so." The Arbiter spoke with pride and confidence.

The Arbiter clenched his fist to his chest, as a sign of honor.

"By your word, Arbiter." Supreme Commander, Rtas 'Vadum spoke with respect as he repeated the gesture the Thel Vadam made.

The Arbiter took a seat on the command chair, as he assumed command of the "Shadow of Intent". The silver armored Elite spun on his chair.

"Take us home."Thel Vadam commanded as he and every other Elite on the Assault Carrier, was eager to see their home planet, Sanhelios safe and sound.

The Shadow of Intent left Earth, to rejoin the remains of the Covenant Separatist fleet in space.

**Back to the memorial**

The camera showed that underneath the print "UNSCDF March 3, 2553", the number "117" is carved into the metal of the wing, next to a new medal for the hero that would of looked greatly with his other medals, and the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is taped to the upper right of it as a tribute to the famous John-117.

**The back end of the "Forward Unto Dawn**_"_

A feminine voice is spoke to a floating man in dark green armor.

"Chief? Chief? Can you hear me?"

The Master Chief, alive and awake, floated in zero gravity in a dark debris-filled hallway on board the Dawn.

"I thought I'd lost you, too." Cortana breathed a sigh of relief.

Chief turned on his helmet's lights and looked at a hole that was behind him in the hallway. He drifted to his floating MA5C Assault Rifle, and holstered it on the magnetic plates on his back. John-117 then began to drift towards hole at the end of the hallway.

"What happened?" The Spartan asked Cortana.

For once Cortana said three words that many people that wouldn't believe she would say.

"I'm not sure. When Halo fired, it shook itself to pieces. Did a number on the Ark. The Portal couldn't sustain itself. We made it through just as it collapsed."

The Chief reached the end of the hallway, which opened up into the vast empty space. 'The Forward Unto Dawn' looked as if it was cut half perfectly, it floated in a cloud of debris, with ends of it still literally red hot from the Slipspace cut.

"Well... some of us made it." Cortana then spoke with a little disappointment as she referred to the Arbiter who was nowhere to be found.

The Dawn's remaining half continued to drift aimlessly in unknown space. The Chief decided to glide further inside the ship, finding a row of cryotubes, complete with a holotank to plug Cortana into.

"But you did it. Truth and the Covenant, the Flood..." The Chief plugged Cortana's data chip into the holotank and she appeared on the holotank with her glowing blue form. "It's finished."

The Master Chief turned off the flashlight on his helmet. The Chief placed his Assault Rifle in one of the rackets on the wall, so he could grab it incase anything happens.

"I'll drop a beacon. But it'll be a while before anyone finds us." Cortana said sadly.

The man climbed into the cryotube that was in-front of Cortana's holotank and next to the rack where he placed his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle.

"Years, even." Which disheartened John since Cortana can only be active for seven years before she thought herself to death. The Master Chief began to think what he would do without Cortana in his life, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted, as the cryotube door began to close.

"I'll miss you." The A.I.'s words were filled with emotion that you would never thought a computer would ever have; sadness and care.

"Wake me when you need me." Master Chief spoke his final words to his last living friend on the half of the Dawn.

Cortana smiled and nodded her holographic head to John. The cryotube closed and sealed itself, which froze the Master Chief. Finally, the rest that Spartan 117 needed since he first encountered the Halos.

Cortana dropped the Dawn's beacon, hoping the message will get found so she and Master Chief could one day be saved.

Unbeknownst to the Spartan and A.I. that this ending of the War, the Covenant, the Flood, Halo, and the Ark, opened up a whole new beginning and doorway to a universe that would change the life of a globetrotter that has been trying to figure out her past. The fight may have been finished but the adventure was just beginning, a journey that will decide the fate of an all too familiar tomb raider that we know.

**Old Author's Notes: Thought I retell the ending of Halo 3 to get a good setting and that it is an easy chapter to post. REVIEW!**

**New Author's Notes: If you have gotten this far, then thank you for rereading the first chapter. Even though it is the retelling of the ending of Halo 3, I think it is pretty important to put the chapter in it.**

**Remember, I will be posting a teaser/trailer for chapter five, once all of the chapters are rewritten. I will post a full chapter once I update my Star Wars story Hope From the Future. I usually update a chapter for each of my stories in a certain order.**

** I hope you liked the chapter, and I really hope you leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**New Author's Notes (even though there wasn't an old author's notes for this chapter): Well here is the second chapter of the rewritten crossover of Halo/Tomb Raider The Lost Get Found.**

**Now unlike chapter one, I made quite a few add ons and changes to the chapter. I hope you spot them and enjoy them, and then leave a review about them in the end. In that particular order hopefully.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to Bungie or 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

Chapter 2: Gazing at the stars

***In deep space…***

_"Wake me, when you need me."_ The Master Chief's words repeated in the A.I's thoughts like an endless echo.

Cortana frowned in her mind as she monitored the hushed casket. It was the same little 'hobby' she had been doing to keep herself pre-occupied for the past ten months. Just staring at his massive armored body that remained frozen in suspension, not moving a single inch since the day he got in the cryo-tube. It was maddening, knowing she was wasting her very limited lifespan away at simply watching over her partner.

Sadly, she knew that it was going to be a very long time before they were going to get rescued. The emergency beacon had been active for almost a year now, but there was only dust and echoes. With the passive scanners online on what was left of the Forward Unto Dawn, the A.I. was limited in her options for detecting any UNSC signals, but she was not going to give up until they got home.

With nothing else to do, her vast intellect wandered back through every moment of her life, down to the finest detail and the smallest millisecond. She had experienced so much on her journey and led an interesting seven year lifespan, even by Smart A.I. standards. She had been created by a flash clone brain of one of the most brilliant scientists in human history; Dr Catherine Halsey. She first met John-117 when she was integrated in the Spartan's old MJLONIR Mark V armor. Though he reacted coldly to her at first, he eventually warmed up to her.

She blackmailed Colonel Ackerson after he put the Master Chief through some strenuous and nearly impossible tests, which would have killed any other person. All in attempt to prove that the Spartans were a waste of UNSC resources. But in the end Ackerson failed in his vendetta, and she got her personal revenge.

Cortana was escorted off of Reach by Noble Six and the other surviving members of Noble Team, when the planet fell to the Covenant. They had lost dear comrades during the campaign, but through their valiant sacrifice, they made a huge step in winning the Human-Covenant War; by discovering a Halo.

The A.I crash landed on Installation 04 with John-117 and Captain Keyes and prevented it from firing by the rampant Forerunner A.I. on the station; 343 Guilty Spark.

Cortana was there for the battle of New Mombasa, but not its end. She helped Chief assassinate a Prophet on Installation 05, and it was a major victory for the UNSC. She even survived the Gravemind and its tortures on the Flood infested High Charity.

She remembered about how close she had fallen to Rampancy, when she stayed behind on High Charity to delay the Gravemind. She had undergone extreme pain when the horrific leader of the Flood chased her throughout the entire Flood-controlled orbital, holy city of the Covenant. She tried her best to escape the deathly entice embrace of the Gravemind and was brought to the point of rampancy in doing so. Still she desperately held on as best she could to survive and help John. It nearly killed her when she sent the message to warn John of the Ark.

She would never forget those words, those words that made death so comforting, so exhilarating. She wanted to give herself to that sea of memories and knowledge. But they weren't her memories, they didn't belong to her. Had she given in, everything she stood for would be for nothing. And maybe in the grand scheme of things, everything is done for nothing. But she had made herself a vow, and if there was a place for her to go after her life was spent, she would look back on that moment proudly, knowing that her humanity was her anchor… and his.

Stowing away her thoughts, she fully focused on scanning the area and making sure that they were going to be somewhere that she would be able to recognize. There had to be a nearby UNSC Colony in the area, or even some ships or transports that would allow them to head back to Earth and see just what happened to the planet and to the human race. The two of them had risked everything to defend the planet, they had earned the right to gaze upon man's homeworld.

However, much to her surprise, she was quick to find a planet near them. But what really made her calculated mind boggle was that the planet matched Earth's specifications.

But something wasn't right.

"_It can't be."_

There was no scarring, no fields of tumbling derelict ships and their shattered husks… nothing.

They shouldn't be anywhere near Earth from the Slipspace jump they made from the Ark. Archaic readouts and signals came from orbiting satellite from the planet. Ark. Cortana noticed that around there were some rather primitive satellites orbiting the planet. Though the scanners on the Dawn were extremely damaged, Cortana was still capable of hacking into the nearby machines. Once the female A.I. hacked into the systems, she looked over the current events and history of the satellites and the world they orbited. It was then, that Cortana made a very shocking discovery about this 'Earth.'

She was worried over their current situation; it didn't seem possible that it could happen.

There was still time, but she felt a sense of urgency. Rerouting whatever power was available in the frigate, she flooded the network with commands to unseal the tube. The veins of ice running across the glass began to retreat. Biometrics began to pulse as the Chief's heart started to beat once more.

His head slowly moved and quickly snapping to attention, with his sights locking onto her avatar, he relaxed for a moment.

_Freezer burn._

Wearing armor into the tube was never recommended. Crewmen always went to cryosleep naked. But the Spartans, they could handle the pain, to them, it was a small price to pay so that they could wake up and throw themselves into the fight.

White mist flowed out of the vents, popping the seals and allowing the hatch to slowly open. As he pulled himself up, the mist parted around him. The biometrics said he was fine save for some minor freezer burn. But she wouldn't believe it until he_ said_ something.

"You all right Chief?" Cortana was smiling. It was the first time she had spoken to the Spartan in ten months.

He simply nodded his head and asked,

"Why did you wake me?" The Spartan spoke in his usual tone, though she could tell that the slight resonance in his voice showed relief, and that he was happy to see her.

He examined the room before him to see if there was any impending danger. Nothing, nothing that could cause him or her harm was there. He turned his focus back to Cortana. With no gravity in the ship, he floated to the A.I's pedestal and held onto it to steady himself. To see that his trusted partner was alright, made him relax slightly.

"We have been drifting for ten months. But…" Cortana hesitated, "I… I think we're closing in on Earth, Chief."

The Spartan was a little confused for she usually knew all the answers to any predicament.

"How are you not sure?" he asked the A.I.

John-117 was a little surprised that they were near Earth after only drifting in space for ten months. It should have been much longer without a working Slipspace Drive. If they were so close to the planet, why hasn't the UNSC contacted them?

"The portal was unstable... the possibilities of what could have happened are endless. But from what I can detect and hack in the orbital satellites, this is not our Earth. There are no MAC platforms, no debris, no ships, and Africa looked like it was never glassed!"

The Master Chief couldn't wrap his head around Cortana's words; a whole another Earth? He had to see it for himself. He drifted out of the area and reached the torn off section of the 'Forward Unto Dawn' and spotted the planet that raised so many questions to the both of them. It was indeed Earth, but not their Earth. The planet looked like it did in the 21st century; it was green with luscious forests and blue with endless oceans, a beautiful sight indeed.

John looked at the world and was growing ever more convinced that something was completely off. He saw no signs of the UNSC Orbital Defense Platform Cairo, no sign of any ship wreckage, neither that of the Covenant forces nor the UNSC Home Defense Fleet. There were no debris from the Athens or Malta Orbital Defense Platforms either, or the others that were reported destroyed when the fleet under the command of the Prophet of Truth invaded. But the most telling of all was the fact that the half of Africa that had been glassed by Ship Master R'Tas Vadum and the Covenant Separatist Fleet. They came to their aid during the battle to keep the Flood in check, except now it was not glassed at all… in fact… it was the same as before in the 21st century, with yellow plains filled with wildlife.

"Something is not right here…"

Cortana herself nodded. She analysised the area below them while managing to hack into more nearby orbiting satellites. She had the device scan the surface of Africa.

"You're right, the city of New Mombasa or even the glassed areas... aren't there anymore. There's no trace of the glassing that we normally see in a Covenant use of plasma bombardment. Something is not right at all here, Chief." Cortana said, to which a solution then came to her mind.

"I am going to activate the thrusters, so we can land the Dawn in a safe place." she said as the ship's thrusters came to life. "Once we land we can try and get into contact with someone that can help us."

"Can we fly a pelican or a longsword down?" he questioned the A.I. when he floated back towards the cryo-room.

'Yes, but it will be hard to track the Dawn when it is so low on power. Just go back to cryo-sleep, I will make sure the landing will be safe." she said reassuringly.

The Master Chief wasn't entirely sure what to make of his situation, but he trusted Cortana with his life. The Spartan then climbed back into the cryo-tube and began to settle himself for another deep sleep. Before the door closed John spoke to her,

"Good luck."

Cortana smiled warmly at his concern. "I'm sure some of yours has rubbed off on me."

The super soldier nodded and the door closed automatically, which froze him in a cryo-slumber.

The _Dawn_ plunged into the Earth's atmosphere. Any section of the hull stripped of ceramic plates began to glow red as it was boiled away. A tail of smoke and fire was formed in the wake of the plummeting ship as metal was ripped away from the frigate's superstructure.

Groaning from the tremendous pressure, the metal bulkheads began to screech as the ship shook violently.

Too much speed… no air breaks. Insufficient power.

They were coming in too fast. Cortana extended all flaps and drag fins; she diverted everything she had into whatever was left of the thrusters. But it wasn't enough. The ship's network was being severed by the intense heat. Sensors were being overwhelmed, rendering her deaf and blind to the outside world.

**On the planet Earth**

_Up in the pitch black sky where the booming thunder roared and the powerful lightning flashed a blinding bright streak, a lone private jet tried to brave through a vigorous storm. In the cockpit were two pilots, and further in the plane was its owner Lady Amelia Croft, and young Lara, her benevolent daughter. _

_Sitting comfortable in her mother's lap, Lara was showing her drawings of the abominable snowmen. A childish book colored in crayon with white yeti playing with stick figure people, near a small gray castle._

_"Just because you've never found one, doesn't mean they're not real." Lara said with a loving grin._

_Her adventurous side always longed to finally see the mysterious creatures. It would no doubt impress her affectionate parents. The young British girl leaned back against her mother's shoulder, resting her burnette head. _

_"Perhaps that's true." Amelia quickly grabbed her pendant, before her child could lay her head on it. A lovely ancient gift given to her by her dearest husband, Lord Richard Croft. "But maybe they don't want to be found. I hear they're rather fierce."_

_"Yeti only look fierce. They probably don't like being so cold all the time. I shouldn't like it either."_

_Amelia beamed a warm smile and said,_

_"You never have to be cold, my Lara, if you don't want to be." Lady Croft then planted a gentle kiss on her only daughter's head._

_Suddenly, Lara noticed a bright orange color coming from one of the plane's passenger windows._

_"Look!" the young British girl shouted as she pointed her finger to the eerie light._

_The plane suddenly shook violently, knocking Amelia and Lara off of their seats._

_"Henry, what's happened?" Amelia asked with concern and worry to one of the head pilot._

_The woman picked herself up on her knees, only to see the pilots flipping several switches like madmen. _

_"Lady Croft, please stay seated!" he replied._

_The tension didn't ease when both Crofts heard the co-pilot radioed on the emergency line._

_"Mayday, mayday! This is Bravo Tango Two Two niner! We've lost our portside engine! Trying to get crossfeeds open!"_

_Little Lara crawled up to the window and saw that the left wing had caught on fire. A fiery blaze had consumed the entire engine. She then felt a tug on her arm from behind. Her mother grabbed her wrist, and swung her into another seat. _

_Amelia wrapped the seatbelt around Lara's waist, buckling her in. _

_The jet shook again and caused Lady Croft to stumble, but she was still able to get into the seat across from her daughter._

_"Are we going to crash?" Lara asked her mother, with concern that could easily be seen in her brown eyes._

_Amelia buckled herself in and met her gaze with a loving stare to ease her anxiety. _

_"Not unless it's absolutely necessary," she replied reassuringly._

_A brown suitcase came loose from the carry on, and shot towards Amelia. Lady Croft instantly ducked her head, narrowly avoiding a nasty injury. She didn't want to scare her child anymore during the distressing situation._

_"Stabilizers jammed, losing altitude! We're going full nose down!" screamed the co-pilot who pulled on the controls with all of his might._

_Young Lara's stomach turned when she felt the sudden descent. It was far scarier than any roller coaster that she rode on at amusement parks. She searched her mother's eyes for the next answer or even any hope of surviving._

_"Close your eyes, darling," said Amelia, not wanting her treasured daughter to see whatever happened next._

_"I don't want to close my eyes," replied Lara while shaking her head._

_Amelia smiled at her daughter's bravery, something she inherited from her stubborn, adventurous father. The plane's terminal beeped loudly, showing that everything was getting worse by the second. The private jet went down with all four inside, and then nothing. _

_**Hours Later**_

_The plane had crashed into some unknown mountains. Neither pilots survived, but Lady Croft and her daughter, Lara safely made it out._

_When they crawled out of the wreckage, they luckily discovered some old untouched ruins nearby. Truthfully, the innards of the site looked terrifying, greatly similar to ancient Viking ruins. Writings crudely carved in the stone walls. But it was all they had to take cover from the freezing blizzard outside. They daringly hoped that whenever the deadly storm stopped, they could attempt to make it back home and back to civilization._

_After taking shelter in the ruins of a cryptic temple, the first thing the smart, shivering Amelia said was to build a fire. Both girls split up to track down some wood at a much faster rate._

_While searching for firewood, the nine year old Lara discovered an ornate stone dais holding a sword. She marvelled in awe at the sight of the ancient scene in front of her. There were three rocks in a triangle position with green, glowing circular marks on them._

_The young girl touched one of the rocks which separated and showed another glowing rock hidden inside of it. After a few seconds the rock formed itself together. They absolutely fascinated little Lara, it was far better than any magic trick performed by a mere magician._

_Wanting to fill her hunger for more excitement, she strolled past the strange mystical rocks. Lara saw what looked like an old sword in a stone that had a dead body next to it. She paid no heed nor mind to the corpse as her focus was captured by the aging embedded weapon. The old weapon didn't look like the average blade for it was black as coal and it had the same glowing lines and marks on it just like the three rocks around her. A thought then ran through her head that if she touched it, something amazing would happen, just like the rocks._

"_Lara have you found some wood for the fire?" she heard her mother ask to her, as the words echoed through the decrepit ruins._

_Still mesmerized by the dark colored sword in the stone, Lara ignored her mother's question and lightly brushed the hilt of the crypted weapon with her small fingers._

_At the mere touch from the young girl, she unwittingly activated the ancient artifact. A click rang out and the black blade dug itself deeper into the stone. _

_Hearing the commotion from afar, Amelia was able to find out what was going on. Acting on a parent's natural instinct, Lady Croft ran up to her and pulled her daughter from the strange mechanism. _

_"No! Get back!"_

_The ground shook slightly, and the platform that they once stood on, twisted in turn of a circle formation. A huge ring then rose up from the floor and in the middle of it, a green light appeared._

_"Lara, what is it?!" Lady Croft yelled frantically._

_With her curiosity getting the better of her, the young girl squinted at the strange thing before her. For a moment, she could've sworn she saw three dark silhouttes standing in the middle of it. _

_"There is something in the light." Lara pointed to the center of the ring. _

_Desperately wishing to protect her only child from harm, Lady Croft walked up to ring slowly, which emitted strange noises from it. It sounded like multiple people arguing all at once in a cave that echoed each word. The closer she got the louder the voices screamed. _

"_What? Who are you?" Amelia asked cautiously to the portal. _

_More sounds came from the ring, except this time they sounded more hectic._

_"Dau... your... ther... your... daughter!" _

"_What? What about my daughter?" Lady Croft questioned the object with fear in her voice. _

_Both Crofts were completely confused by the frightening mechanism._

"_You stay away from her! She meant no harm!" Amelia screamed at the ring. _

_The voices from the portal almost sounded like shouts and screams._

"_What's happening mother?" Lara yelled, she very worried about her mother. "Who's there?"_

_The young girl almost thought she heard the light scream the words, 'pull the sword out!' But another voice sounded like it shouted, 'No, don't touch it!'_

_Suddenly, Lady Croft screamed,_

"_Oh, God, no!" _

_She then yanked the sword out of the stone and a bright, blinding green light emitted from the ring._

_Lara covered her eyes with her arm. When the glow was gone, she looked to see what had happened. Her mother was gone, nowhere to be found. Along with the sword._

"_Mother?" she walked up to where her beloved mother disappeared._

_There was no sign of her, and her heart dropped to her stomach like a sack of bricks._

"_Mother!" Her voice echoed through the ancient temple, but there was no answer._

_She was all alone, a lost child._

_A few minutes later, Lara was seen drawing in her book filled with pictures. She drew images of the objects around her with an angry face of what happened to her beloved mother. She drew the emblems she saw on the rocks with her blue crayon, the sword that was in the stone, and the ring that formed around the platform when the blade was removed. The young girl pressed the crayon against the book with as much pressure as she could, to keep the drawings in the book forever. _

_Little Lara then dropped her book and left her pictures that she drew, behind on the floor where her mother disappeared. She walked up the steps of the temple with her fist balled up in anger and sadness nearly trembling. She desperately hoped to leave the accursed place forever._

Lara Croft woke up with a gasp, breathing hard with her hand on her chest and sweat pouring from her skin.

"_Another nightmare," _She thought.

She had dreamt of the plane crash in the Himalayas where her mother disappeared, when she was just a little girl. That moment changed her life forever. When her mother disappeared in the temple, Lara survived on a solo ten-day trek across the Himalayan mountains, one of the most hostile environments on the planet. After a long journey, she arrived in Katmandu where she went to the nearest bar and made a polite telephone call to her father asking if it would be convenient for him to come and pick her up.

Lara's father quickly rushed to pick up his daughter from Katmandu. When Lara saw her dad, it was the first time she ever saw him cry. The tears were of both happiness and sadness, joyous that he finally found his daughter safe and well from surviving such a tragic event and through harsh environments. His heart was almost repaired when he finally hugged his young Lara. But his despair matched his bliss for he learned that his wife did not return with his daughter. It was from then on that Lord Richard Croft dedicated his life and wealth to finding his beloved wife.

For six years after the tragedy in the Himalayas, Lara rarely left her father's side, she travelled around the world from one archaeological dig site to another. During this period she was ostensibly given a standard education from private tutors, but she gained most of her knowledge from her father as she became his apprentice.

When Lara turned fifteen, her father went missing in Cambodia. Extensive searches by the authorities and Lara herself turned up human remains that couldn't definitively be identified. Since Lord Croft's body was not officially recovered, Lara could not directly inherit the Croft title and she was thrust into a bitter family feud over control of the Abbingdon estates with her uncle, Lord Errol Croft. She eventually won the legal battle, and took possession of her inheritance but at the cost of a deep rift in the Croft family that left her estranged from her living relatives.

Lara Croft had already eclipsed her father's career. With fifteen sites of international significance discovered, her contribution to archaeology was _astronomical._  
>The sites were still yielding new and exciting insights to the past on an ongoing basis. No one could deny Lady Croft's incredible contribution to the field of archaeology, however she was not without her detractors. She gained an extensive amount of profit when she wrote about her discoveries, journeys, and puzzles she solved through them.<p>

The now adult Lara Croft stepped out of her bed with her pajamas on and walked to the balcony. Her pajamas that she was wearing were of a tight nature, light blue gray color shirt that nicely emphasized her curves. The fine silk followed the tomb raider's thin wastes, and ended around her hips before disappearing under the waistband of her light blue silky trousers. Lycra was added with the silk as it kept her flexible in case of a dangerous situation arose while she was sleeping. The V-shape neck allowed a teasing view at her ample cleavage, but when she turned around all eyes went down to her shapely bottom accentuated by the light blue silk pants.

Once she was on the balcony during the night, Lara wrapped her arms around her chest and looked up to the stars.

_"Oh mother, where are you?" _Lara thought while she gazed at the bright lights up above her.

Tomorrow she was going to head to Bolivia. One of her friends, Anaya Imanu, had mentioned a stone dais located in the ruins of Tiwanaku, a pre-Incan civilization. The adventuress was hoping to finally solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance.

As the globetrotter gazed at the stars she noticed a rather large shooting star flying through the sky. The kid in her awakened and Lara made a wish upon the star.

"_I wish I can find out what happened to mother." _

Lara smiled at what she did and walked back to her bed to catch up on some much needed sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for her, and she needed all the rest she could get.

Little did she know that the shooting star would grant her wish. If someone was to look through a telescope, one could see that the star was no star, but a burning wreckage of a ship. If one looked even closer, they could see letters on the ship that read, _'Forward Unto Dawn'_.

**New Author's Notes: Well there is the rewritten version of the second chapter of Halo/Tomb Raider crossover, The Lost Get Found. I added quite a lot of stuff to this chapter, despite it being a short chapter still. I fixed some grammar errors, added a few stuff and thoughts in the beginning where Chief and Cortana are looking over Earth. And I told a little history of Lara Croft. I thought that adding Lara's past was pretty important since not everyone might know everything about the Tomb Raider.**

**I remember when I first wrote this chapter, despite the errors, I was pretty proud of the chapter, mainly the end of it where Lara sees the 'Forward Unto Dawn' but thinks it is a shooting star. I was going for the hint of the crossover and kind of a teaser/trailer. It brings me excitiment like a teaser/trailer normally does and I hope it did the same for you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to Bungie or 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

**New Author's Notes: Alright here is the re-written version of chapter 3. Now I made quite a few changes to this chapter, more changes than chapter 2 and 1. I hope fixed some errors from last time and make everyone happy with this chapter as well as understand it better.**

**I would like to thank WeepingCadver, Andir for helping on this crossover. They were a huge help and played a big part on improving this story. I couldn't have done it without them.**

**I would also like to thank toughraid3r37890 for graciously letting me use his amazing looking picture for this fic. It is hard to find a picture with both Master Chief and Lara Croft in a picture together. And toughraid3r37890 had the talent to draw the great work of art. It is definitely kind for letting me use his picture. All credit to the picture goes to toughraid3r37890.**

Chapter 3: Faithful Encounter

***Above the mountains of Bolivia in the year 2006***

The burning wreckage of the UNSC frigate the _Forward Unto Dawn_ streaked through the night sky of Earth. The ship was encased in a bright flame from the atmospheric re-entry. Without sufficient ceramic tiles, the hull began to glow red and boiled away. A tail of fire and smoke was formed in the wake of the plummeting ship as metal was ripped away from the frigate's superstructure.

Groaning from the tremendous pressure, the metal bulkheads began to screech as the ship shook violently.

Too much speed… no air breaks. Insufficient power.

They were coming in too fast. The smart A.I. inside the warship, Cortana, extended all flaps and drag fins; she diverted everything she had into whatever was left of the thrusters. But it wasn't enough. The ship's network was being severed by the intense heat. Sensors were being overwhelmed, rendering her deaf and blind to the outside world.

Her goal was to help direct it in a safe secure place that was inconspicuous. Now that the _Dawn_ started to reach its destination, she eased down on the power of the thrusters.

Before she entered the atmosphere of the planet, she had to think,

_Where would be a safe place to land the back half of the frigate, without anyone stumbling on the ship?_

Cortana wanted to land the ship safely, where it would not be decimated or explode from impact. She also didn't want anyone to find the ship where someone would try to steal their superior technology. If someone was to take their tech, it would result in the unfortunate event of Chief... well killing them. After the A.I. looked at this world through the satellites that orbited it, she knew that the world was not ready for their technology nor were they ready for a Spartan super soldier like the Master Chief. If anyone would happen to find them, the results would be disastrous.

So it was then that she thought; the mountains. They would be an excellent place to hide the _Dawn_. Mountains were large, so there was plenty of room to land safely. It would also blend in well with the rocks around the summit, with its gray bulking form.

The location couldn't be well-known or popular like Mt. Everest. No doubt some youthful challengers would attempt to climb the impossibly high landmark, and then discover the frigate by accident. It couldn't be the alps in America, as the military would surely spot them. A good choice for a prominence that wasn't all that popular and in an impoverish country; it belonged in Bolivia.

Cortana shut off the thrusters of the Forward Unto Dawn, since the ship was in a safe distance for it to coast for a landing. The frigate's hull scraped the peak of the highest mountain, spilling tons of earth down into the valley below.

The frigate bounced off the ground a few times, where it left craters in its wake. Once enough momentum and inertia was gone, it skidded across the terrain, leaving a huge dirt covered trail. The large, bulky warship cracked and screamed as the flaming hot metal touched the rocky surface, which sent splinters of stones flying. The UNSC ship plowed through the ground, but its speed was greatly reduced as it continued to push through the mountain. Soil parted around the ship as she carved a trench into the ground. Eventually, the frigate came to a stop, her hull still glowing.

The _Forward Unto Dawn_ still smoked and sizzled, with some of the parts still seething red hot from its atmospheric re-entry.

Everything was quiet once more, the earth stopped shaking and the creatures stopped running. But they were far too scared to approach the fiery behemoth that had crashed through their world.

Within the vessel, in the hallways devoid of light, a pedestal flickered to life. A holographic image of a free female form took shape – Cortana's avatar. She turned to face the hushed casket, covered in a thin layer of ice. The heat may have burned away the outer hull, but the holds within were still below freezing.

"Time to wake up, Chief," she whispered.

A tired and forlorn expression crossed her features. She wanted him to rest, he had done his part, and he deserved that much at least. Activating the remaining repair drones, Cortana needed to boost her ship's communication signal so she could hack the satellites.

**~o~**

**_*Several hours later in the mountains of Bolivia* _**

The sun shone bright through the clear azure sky, its soft rays dancing on the back of a grateful climber. She scaled up the walls with near effortless grace, as if she knew where every foothold on the mountain side was. But there was no rope holding her, no axe to help her climb, her only equipment was her bare hands covered in chalk.

For many, scaling a mountain without any gear was insanity, but for the 28 year old Lara Croft, it was pure adrenaline. To her, it felt like moving without restraint and everything done by her own accord.

Lifting herself onto a small plateau, the British woman tucked a stray strand of brunette hair behind her ears and turned away from the rocks. Beyond her, stretched a beautiful valley carved by gentle hands of nature.

_Beautiful_, she surmised.

"You know I think you forgot your climbing gear on purpose." Zip said over the hands free com unit attached to her right ear.

"Now what would give you that idea?" she replied jokingly as she kicked back for an extra push and jumped for a narrow ledge above her. "Really Zip, it's like going up a set of stairs only far less boring."

"Yeah, but I want to throw up every time you look down." Zip complained. There was a brief moment of silence from Zip, but then there was some shuffling on the com. "Hey Alister's back. Pull up a head set, man."

Lara leapt for another handhold, but this one gave way beneath her grip. Relying on years of training, she jetted herself away and into a more secure hold. What would be a near death experience for most normal people, was just a casual fluke for her.

"Back so soon, from Florence was it?" the young adventuress asked, the newly arrival of the British male over the headset.

"I decided on Geneva the last minute." He corrected her. "Although at this rate my dissertation will never see the light of day." Alister was studying for his Masters in ancient civilizations at Oxford, and making little headway into his dissertation topic of Pre-Roman Northern Italian society.

"What are you doing in Bolivia anyway?" He asked.

As he spoke Lara launched herself in a graceful swan dive, toward a river carved plain that extended back into the cliff face and into the valley proper. Unfortunately, she slightly misjudged her trajectory and hit the cliff face just below her destination. Dangling over the side with one hand, she set herself by latching on with both palms.

"Ascending." Lara replied to Alister as she flipped up into a handstand and over onto level ground. She rubbed the dirt from her hands and examined the area before her.

"Alister, meet Tiwanaku a lovely Pre-Incan civilization, currently in ruins."

"Delighted." he answered.

The tomb raider scouted her surroundings to see how she can maneuver through the mountainous area to get to the ruins on the other side. Through her keen eye, she discovered that the only way up into the valley was through a small cave behind a waterfall. From there she should be able to get to the shallow river that had over the past thousand years or so cut its way into the rock face.

She planned out her route up following it with her brown eyes and her mind made a series of mental checkpoints. Then she turned for one last look over Lake Titicaca. She briefly imagined what it would be like to be down there swimming through those clear waters, she always felt so at ease and peaceful when she was swimming.

Going for the next best thing Lara turned and in a graceful leap dove into the waterfall's pool. For a moment, she enjoyed the motion of swimming, letting the crisp water clean the dust and sweat from her body. The wonderful sensation cleared the worries and doubts from her mind. Sadly, it couldn't last forever, and she surfaced again and swam for the farther shore.

Lara clambered up from the slough and reached behind her to ring the water from her brunette hair. Her long, brown hair was tied in a neat ponytail, and it still reached a bit below the mid section of her back. She never bothered to cut it much as the rushing wind blowing against her scalp was always a delightful feeling.

"Hey, do me a favor and check your PDA?" Zip asked over the headset.

She did as instructed and pulled the small yet exceptionally expensive device from her backpack. She checked its display, which currently showed the Wikipedia entry for the Tiwanaku culture.

"It still works if that's what you're wondering." Lara said while she pressed a few buttons on the gadget.

"Cool!" Zip said obviously impressed and excited. "They said it was waterproof. You should be ok to swim with it with no problem. Unless you eat…"

But suddenly, static came on the screen of the PDA.

Lara's face cringed in a look of annoyance. She shook and tapped the hand-held contraption to see if that would somehow fix it, but luck wasn't on the adventuress' side… well technology wise that is.

"Looks like it has some bugs, Zip." she spoke through the headset, but she didn't get a reply from her trusty technician.

"Zip…Zip are you there?" the familiar static buzzed on the headset too.

"Bloody Hell." Lara swore quietly.

She usually spent a large amount of funds on expensive, but high grade technology. Something that did not actually work... well it showed that she did not get her money's worth.

Out of nowhere, an unknown female voice spoke through the headset.

"Hello?…Hello is this Lara Croft?" the feminine voice asked.

A frown grew on the British beauty's face, she was in a situation that she did not like. It was painfully obvious that this person was some sort of advanced hacker, but it was shocking to find that someone was able to bypass Zip's systems so efficiently.

He was considered one of the best technicians and hackers of their time. No doubt the man will be furious.

"Who is this?" The tomb raider growled. "How did you get access to my PDA and headset?"

She carefully scanned the area around her with her keen brown eyes, to see if anyone was around, particularly the person that was causing her trouble.

"I am Cortana. How I found you is irrelevant, but I do need your help. It's a matter of life and death," the voice said gravely.

A breathy sigh escaped her chest. This was something that she did not need. Her original plan was just to find the stone dais that her friend, Anaya Imanu, told her about, and leave. But Lara knew she could not ignore a plea for help. It still bothered her that someone who needed assistance was able to hack into her headset and PDA. Knowing her name though, was more possible as she did build quite a reputation of herself. The situation however, almost sounded like a trap.

"Alright," Croft agreed. "But I need to know your location."

"Coordinates transferred to your PDA, I need you here asap."

"Okay, I'll be there shortly."

She looked down to her PDA and saw the coordinates, which said the position was just a few clicks away. She stared at the coordinates on the PDA with intent, but quickly mesmerized the set path.

The young adventuress shoved the handheld contraption back into her pocket; the device was slim enough not to break the line of her khaki shorts. But probably not robust enough to withstand being sat on. Lara then started to run to the location of the downed ship.

**_~o~_**

**_*On the frigate the Forward Unto Dawn* _**

"The first step is in motion_." _Cortana said to herself out loud.

She was able to land the ship safely on the mountains of Bolivia, where nobody could find them and steal their technology. She hacked into some satellites and observed the area around them. After some serious thought and examining other data, she was able to figure out that they were not in their reality, but an alternate reality.

In the beginning, she thought that they were in the past being that the date was 2006, but then she discovered that some of the events that occurred in this world were a little different from their own.

At first, the discovery almost overwhelmed the smart A.I. There was just too much to comprehend.

Being in such a low tech reality she knew that there was no solution that could save her from her short seven year lifespan. An even worse thought that plagued her mind was that she knew that there would be no possible way for Chief to get home. There was no UNSC to retrieve them, no slipspace drive on the _Dawn_ to leave the alternate reality… there was nothing. All hope of ever returning home, vaporized within the distraught A.I.

Despite the grim news, she looked at the positive side. There were no Covenant or Flood forces to pursue them here. She also thought that this might be his chance to live somewhat of a normal life and to finally be happy.

She looked over to the Spartan that slept peacefully in a cryo-slumber. She wondered how he could adapt to a world like this with no wars or battles to be fought. Where no super soldiers were needed. He would be lost in a place like this.

The main problem that ran through her head was, who was going to take care of the Master Chief? Who was going to guide him through this reality? What or who was he going to fight for? The bad thing was that Cortana knew she had a long time think about their drastic situation.

As the day went on, she discovered via satellite, that a rich boy named James Rutland was here near a temple with a lot of men, all carrying primitive guns. It was an easy assumption that they were mercenaries. It was obvious that this Rutland guy was very wealthy, as he had expensive clothes on and his own personal helicopter to arrive at some nearby old temple's site.

Cortana had a bad hunch about this wandering rich boy, so she looked up this James on his file and found out that he was a Senator's youngest son, but also a corrupt man who had some not so friendly dealings with the black market. She couldn't trust this Rutland. She hoped that he and his mercenaries would just pass by and not disturb them. Otherwise, a Senator's son might just disappear.

Then by pure coincidence another person came, but this one was female. The A.I. used the satellites to zoom in on the female to get a good look at her. This woman was young brunette, estimated in her mid twenties, with tight brown sleeveless tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, long white socks, fingerless gloves, and a utility belt. The woman was armed with two pistols encased in holsters.

But what really got her eye was that this woman escalated an impossibly high mountain with no climbing gear whatsoever. The woman did some amazing flips and jumps to get to higher points on the mountain, that normally would terrify the average climber, especially without safe climbing gear. The mysterious woman's motions were so fluid and done with such ease and grace. Her acrobatic moves could definitely make some Olympic athletes jealous with envy. Cortana had never quite seen a non-Spartan that was so well balanced as the athletic brunette female.

The smart A.I. hacked into some more files and found out that this girl was named Lara Croft. This Lara Croft had an interesting life, she's the foremost expert in anything to do with archaeology and also with occult artifacts, served as an adventurer, mercenary, treasure hunter, explorer, had a stint of running away from the law due to a series of murders aimed at her. She was incredibly talented too. She was an expert in hand to hand combat, marksmanship, athleticism, weapons skills, tactics skills, acrobatic skills, speaks fluently in several languages, a pilot and capable of driving many other vehicles, and had some other talents.

She looked at some of the more personal files, she was London-born daughter of a Lord Richard Croft and Lady Amelia. She had been raised as an aristocrat. Lara attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun and a Swiss finishing school for a few years until she was tutored by her father. A plane crash had left the British girl stranded in the Himalayas for two weeks; the experience spurred her to shun her former life and seek other adventures around the world. Her father had then disappeared while looking for his wife. Croft had written books and other published works based on her exploits on her adventures and careers which got her a pretty good income.

She had contacts with the upper society members and had some contacts in the military and intelligence community, as well as others in darker areas of the world. When exploring, she often carried two pistols, but was still exceptionally great with other weapons.

Cortana smiled, this Lara Croft had a phenomenal life, she accomplished so much in such a short time. She got a good feeling from the one known as Lara Croft, it was a familiar feeling that she felt within someone very close to her. Suddenly, she was struck by inspiration; it was luck! Cortana could tell that Lara Croft had a similar feeling she got from John, and it was luck. Her smile only brightened when she realized that both John and Lara had an extraordinary amount of luck on their side.

But then the A.I. frowned. Lara had no idea that there was a group of deadly mercenaries encamped nearby. The mercenaries would no doubt, shoot the woman on sight the first chance they get.

Cortana knew she had to prevent from any harm coming to Miss Croft. She was an innocent bystander that was walking into a corrupt rich boy's plot. Despite the idea of hiding, she had to intervene. She had to wake up Master Chief. But she couldn't simply wake up John and then find Lara and kill off the mercs. The tomb raider would most likely re-act in a negative manner.

This Lara Croft was the perfect candidate. When she is gone Lara could show the world to Chief, teach him how to live a good life, be there for him when he needs somebody, keep him busy on adventures, guide him through society, and give him a purpose to fight once again.

Cortana started to form a plan on how the two should meet without them fighting each other. She would take control of her headset and PDA and guide her to the _Forward Unto to Dawn_. She would then reveal who she is and have her awaken the Master Chief from cryo-sleep. The plan seemed like it would work.

***At the Croft Manor***

"Lara? Hello?" Zip asked, his only response being dead silence, which was rather unnerving. "What the... what just happened?" He continued to stare at the monitor in surprise. "Did we just... Lose contact?"

He paused, hoping that it wasn't so. He could not hear Lara through the headset or see what she saw on the computer screen.

"Lousy piece of junk... I'm filing a complaint with the company." Alister complained.

"Hpmh, top quality." Alister spat with venom drenched in his voice. "Must mean something different for them." He muttered more to himself.

Alister watched Zip poke around the system for several moments before speaking up.

"Even if it was as top-quality as it seemed to be, it is absolutely impossible to find a piece of technology that is durable enough to withstand Lara's adventures."

Both men were seated in leather rolling chairs, by a large glass desk that held three different high tech computers. A few yellow sticky notes with various writings were plastered to each machine. The room was fairly big, surrounded by glass walls and a pair of doors similar to the glass architecture. It was a lot like an office from the CIA.

Zip leaned up in his seat, with a set of angry eyes and a frown sketched on his face. He pressed several keys on the keyboard and pressed many buttons on the computer, but it was to no avail as the screen and monitors were still blank. The African American made a loud groan and fell back in his chair from the failed attempt of fixing the computers.

Then an elderly man with snow white hair in a comb over, wearing the traditional butler tux suit with a black bow tie walked up behind Zip and Alister. This was Winston Smith, Lara's faithful and trusted butler that has been serving her family before she was born.

"Is there something you need, sirs?" Winston asked in a calm voice with a genuine smile on his aged face.

"Yeah, a screwdriver." Zip said, running a hand through his messy black hair.

"Oh, and a cup of tea sounds smashing right now, if its alright?" Alister asked as he hoped beverage would help settle the stressing situation.

"Right away, sirs." Winston said with a polite bow and then made his way to the tool shed and the kitchen.

The tech genius slouched in his leather chair and took a deep breath to help calm down. Zip then looked over to Alister from his chair.

"So you think she is okay?" Zip asked without needing to say their employer's name.

"Of course, it is Lara after all. She can handle just about anything thrown at her." Alister replied with a confident smile.

"Yeah, ain't that the truth." Zip agreed.

"What about the computers? Do you think you can fix them?" Alister pondered.

"I don't know, man. I haven't seen something like that happen to my babies." Zip replied a little depressed about his expensive technology that he loved as if they were his own children, then seemingly broke on him.

The tech genius sat back in his chair, and tapped the sides of the computers to see if he had the magic touch. But no luck, as the screens were still pitched black.

In a few moments, Winston came back carrying a silver tray that held an orange handled screwdriver, and two silver cups of piping hot tea.

"Your tea, sir." Winston gestured to Alister.

"Ah, thank you, Winston." Alister said graciously, while taking the hot drink.

Alister carefully blew on the smoldering tea to cool it down slightly, and then he took a slow sip. The warm, tasty liquid sent the man's taste buds for a whirl, and it started to help relieve some of the stress.

"Your screwdriver, sir." Winston gestured to Zip.

Zip got up and picked the screwdriver and cup of tea from Winston's tray, though he set the beverage aside on the desk for later.

"Thanks, Winston."

With the tool in hand, Zip went over to the computers and started to untwist the screws that connected the monitor to the computer.

"Will that be all, sirs?"

"Yes Winston, thanks again." Zip replied though still busy at his task.

"My pleasure, sir." Winston made a polite bow and walked away slowly to do a little cleaning around the manor.

"So what's your plan? I don't know if you can break the already broken computers." Alister commented when he took another sip from his tea, and saw that the computer's monitor fell off.

"I am going to try to get to the bottom of this." Zip said as he messed with tangled wires.

Zip was one of the best hackers in the world, with great extensive knowledge on computers and top of the class in computer systems. He had set up impenetrable firewalls that put the FBI security networks to shame. The tech genius was very confident that he could fix the computers and get back into contact with Lara.

**_*Back with Lara Croft in the Bolivian Mountains*_**

Lara followed the directions on her PDA, it was a fairly easy, boring walk. There were no rocks, cliffs, vines, or anything to climb to make that could have made the trip even a bit exciting. And when she thought she reached her destination she took in the sight in front of her. The tomb raider's eyes widened, she really couldn't tell what she was looking at. From the way the large, metal object was embedded into the mountain side, it looked like it could be an excessively elaborate bunker entrance. But she knew it wasn't a bunker. Looking at the dark black scar that had carved its way through the forest and lead up to the base of the structure, Lara had the feeling it was a ship.

The young female adventurer felt like a speck compared to the huge size of the 'ship' in front of her. A lot of questions swirled in her head; like how did it get there, who made it, why was it in Bolivia, and what happened to it? But she had to put them aside as no one was there to answer them.

_Maybe this, 'Cortana', was telling the truth. _Lara thought to herself.

She walked to the left to see if anything was behind the 'ship'. She saw that there was a long dirt trail that dug pretty deep into the ground.

_No doubt it was made from the crash. _The globetrotter concluded in her mind.

Various trees, rocks, and bushes were ripped to pieces or destroyed, probably also from the crash. There were a few burnt patches on the ground, which showed that they made it past the atmosphere and had a nasty re-entry. But she did get a glance of the sides of what looked like a rocket ship's thrusters, but they were far bigger. The British adventuress then saw some writing on the side of the ship that was written in big, bold, white colors in the English language. Some dirt covered parts of the letters, but Lara was able to make out the words, _Forward Unto Dawn_.

She walked backed and looked at the perfectly sliced cut on the ship, again.

The tomb raider was about to get a better inspection of the mysterious cut, but her headset came on again,

"We are right inside. Just go in and I will guide you to us."

"Hold on! I am not taking another step until I find out what the bloody hell this thing is." Lara demanded. She could have sworn that she heard the woman on the line made a sigh.

"The crew and I on this ship were a part of a secret government project to attempt long distance space travel for the United States on this experimental ship the _Forward Unto Dawn_. Our ship malfunctioned and crash landed here. Most of the crew are dead besides myself and one other survivor. Now can you please come and help us… we need you." The voice known as Cortana said.

The tomb raider stood in her place, deep within thought. She was not entirely convinced by the story. Yes, the young adventuress did believe the part of the ship and its crew that tried to accomplish long distance space travel, as it was man's dream to achieve new heights. But what she couldn't place her finger on was the 'accident' that happened to the ship. Nothing could have made a cut that was as perfect on the ship in front of her of its sheer size.

_I wonder where the other half of the ship is? _Lara Croft asked herself.

But despite the fact that she didn't fully believe Cortana's story, she knew she had to help the strangers. If any of what the person said was true, then there might be someone who survived the crash and in need of medical attention. Lie or not, she knew that she could not leave someone like that.

"Alright, just hang tight." Lara said to her headset.

"As if I had a choice." Cortana sarcastically replied.

Lara walked up to the ship to see where she should enter, and it was then that she saw in the middle of the inside of the ship, there was a walkway of some sort. The tomb raider walked directly under the walkway and she reached for small grapple gun on her belt. She took aim at the edge of the metal walkway and fired a magnetic dart that latched onto the edge of the walkway. The magnetic dart was attached to a lengthy nylon cable that was strong enough to hold her light weight, and had an excellent use for climbing.

She tested the strength of the nylon cable with a few tugs and smiled when the grapple did not feel loose. She then started to climb up towards the metal walkway as the grapple also retracted itself as the adventuress climbed. When the tomb raider successfully reached the top, she placed her grapple hook back on her belt and made her way into the dark hall of the ship's opening.

The ship that was known as the _Forward Unto Dawn_, unknown to Lara Croft that the ship was a frigate that was once used by heroes of a long and devastating war.

**_*A few moments later aboard the Forward Unto Dawn*_**

Lara trod carefully in the dark hallways of the downed ship. The sun provided some light in the dim areas, but the deeper the tomb raider went, the darker it became. She activated the small flashlight attached to her left shoulder strap that connected to her backpack. She would look in every direction as she took a step... to expect the unexpected, which was what she was good at, after all.

There wasn't much in the hallway that seemed of any danger. The only thing she could see in the empty hall was mechanical debris. There were a few that she could recognize such as pipes, screws, nuts, and wires, while others... well she wasn't even sure Zip would know. She was fairly sure that Alister wouldn't know anything either, as the ship did not belong to anything in the history books. Some pieces looked very strange, almost futuristic.

Miss Croft walked up to a wall, and brushed her fingers against the cold lifeless steel of the ship. She then brought her hand close to her face, squinted her eyes, and rubbed her index finger on her thumb.

_No dust, so the crash must have been fairly recent._ Lara Croft thought to herself.

She wasn't exactly comfortable in her current environment. The British woman felt more cozy when she explored ancient tombs or ruins from the long ago past. This lifeless machine was not part of her usual forte. She was more accustomed to old rocks with cryptic writing, not a highly advanced ship like she was in now. She could no longer hear the birds chirp, tree branches snap, or howls of local wild life. Instead she heard her combat boots echo with each step she took. Occasionally there would be a few mechanical creeks and groans, and electrical sparks burst. But the most that stood out were her footsteps that whispered within the mysterious ship, despite how lightly she walked.

It wasn't long before she stumbled upon a large, slightly opened mechanically door. The door itself looked as if it used to open and close on its own for the ship's crew, but judging from the crash it stayed exposed. But it was of no problem for the tomb raider to squeeze her slender form through the opening.

The next room she found herself in, made her raise a questioning eyebrow. She was in a circular room that had a railing around some sort of... well she didn't quite know. The object composed of metal, and shaped widely similar to a cone. Eight lights flickered around it, and it had a duplicate right above it.

_I really wish Zip and Alister could see this right now, so they could warn me what this stuff is. Or at least guess what it is._ Lara thought in precaution.

There were other steel miscellaneous tools that were on the ground. Each one looked like they belong to some part of the ship, but got shot out from the crash. They all varied in different shapes. Some were white and had a cylinder shape, some were oval, and there were few others. She was careful to step around and over the objects, incase they were of any danger.

But as she walked, she accidentally kicked a small hard object. The young British woman looked down, and was somewhat surprised to see a strange looking pistol. She bent down and picked up the odd weapon by the grip, and examined it. The sidearm looked like every other pistol with the standard grip and handle, but the muzzle on it had a large cylinder barrel on it. The gun felt somewhat heavier than her own, but it looked to be in great shape despite the crash. She aimed it a few times, but the large muzzle on the barrel obstructed her view slightly. She curiously twisted the strange oversized muzzle, and then learned that it was removable.

Lara looked at the weird muzzle in one hand, while the rest of the pistol was in her left hand. The tomb raider closed one eye to get a good look at the chamber. And what was strange, was that it appeared errily similar to of a grenade of some type. A few questions popped up in the her head, but she ignored them as she did not want to set it off by accident. She put the muzzle back on the pistol with a twist, and set the gun back on the ground.

Without warning, the lights came back on in the room of the ship, along with any working computers and technical systems. She reached for her weapons in their holsters, to be ready for any dangers that would jump out.

"Your almost there, not too much farther now. Just follow the arrow that says cryo-bay, it should be written on the floor." Cortana informed over the comms.

Lara slightly relaxed, as it seemed that there would be nothing to attack her, but she kept her hands ready to grab her dual Heckler & Koch USP Match pistols.

She walked around in the circular room, and went to the other metal door on the other side. When she approached the door, it slid open with a hiss. Though the power on the ship was re-activated, it did not ease her discomfort. She stepped through the door, and saw that the next room was a simple hallway. The tomb raider walked down the hall, and the door behind her closed automatically. As she walked closer to the end of the hall where another door was, she did notice that it had gotten slightly colder. But she pushed the sudden temperature change thought aside and continued towards the door.

She peered at the ground and found the green arrow that said 'cryo-bay', which pointed to a door. The young adventuress approached the door and it slid open automatically like the door from before. But Lara saw quite an unusual sight. She shivered slightly when she felt the freezing temperature in the room. Lara took a deep breath and exhaled, and saw the air in frost form. There were white specks that floated and fell around the room. She let one fall into her gloved palm, and felt the white droplets with her bare fingers.

"Snow?" The brunette adventuress muttered in question with a quiet cold breath.

She looked up from her hand and saw that there was a line of human sized tubes lined up against the wall with frost on the glass of each tube. There were piles of snow under each large tube.

The globetrotter stuck her head through the door and slowly walked into the room with her hands itching to grab her dual pistols. She kept walking when, suddenly, a blue light emerged from a little pillar in the floor. She could only guess that it was some sort of hologram as it had a human female form that was somewhat nude. The most peculiar thing about it though was that it was waving at her. She approached it carefully and hesitated in speaking.

"Uh…hi." Lara said awkwardly as she gave a half hearty wave back.

"About time you got here. We have been waiting for a while now." The hologram said with her holographic hands on her hips.

"Hold on… you can talk?"

"Yes, I am the one that brought you here. My name is Cortana, I am an A.I.; an Artificial Intelligence."

"An A.I.?" Lara asked, as she knew what an A.I. was but she just couldn't believe she was looking at one.

"Correct, a self thinking computer."

Lara raised her hand to her mouth to show that she was thinking, but still voiced her thoughts.

"A self-thinking advanced computer program? Interesting, that would explain how you were able to hack into my headset and PDA. Zip would go nuts over you."

"I'm flattered, but I still need you to rescue the other person." Cortana said as she folded her arms across her holographic chest.

"Alright, where is this person at?"

"He is right there." Cortana said as she pointed a finger.

The tomb raider traced the holographic index directed at one of the frost covered tubes, except this one had active lights inside. She walked up to the tube, leaned up on the tips of her toes and placed her fingerless gloved hand on the glass. The icy cold surface bit at her delicate touch, but that did not deter Lara's curiosity from wanting to see what was inside. She slowly rubbed her hand on the glass of the tube, to brush some of the frost off it.

After some successful wiping, Lara was able to vaguely make out some colors inside the tube and the what stood out the most appeared to be gold. She rubbed some more in effort and got a better picture of what was in the tube. Inside, she saw a dark green colored helmet that completely covered the person's head, and had a bright gold visor in which she could see her own reflection.

The tomb raider stepped back a little from the surprising sight, but she regained her bearings and brushed off more frost on the tube. Once most of the frost was gone, she could see that the thing inside looked to be a seven foot being in strange looking dark green armor in a frozen suspension. Lara wasn't completely caught off guard as she had seen stranger things.

"He's... big." Lara said slightly astounded.

Cortana had to stop herself from giggling from Lara's observation.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"You said 'he' earlier. So it is a human and...well a male?" The tomb raider asked without taking her eyes off of the occupant in the tube.

"That is correct, Miss Croft. But right now, I need you to press that button on the tube to open it and unfreeze him." Cortana gestured towards the big red button.

"Wait, how do I know he won't attack me when I open it? A stranger on a classified ship isn't exactly welcoming." Lara said in her British accent.

"He won't if I tell him you're not hostile, now can you please open it." Cortana said a little impatiently.

Lara went up to the tube and pressed the button. The tube made a hiss as it released some air and then the door lifted up.

_**...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to Bungie or 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

Chapter 4: Sleep Well?

***In the cryo room aboard the _Forward Unto Dawn*_**

It was cold, his senses were numb. Drawing in a deep breath, he filled his chest with icy cold air.

"Chief, can you hear me?" a familiar voice asked.

_Cortana?_

Blinking rapidly, his vision began to clear as memories began to return. The Ark, Johnson, the firing of Halo and the escape on the _Forward Unto Dawn_.

_Did we make it?_

"Chief, your vitals are okay. I need you to focus. Someone's here to see us."

_How long was I in?_

He squeezed his eyes shut, reveling in the dull relief that it offered. Opening his eyes again, his vision began to clear as he took in the whole view before him. Someone was in front of his tube. She was in her twenties, had brown hair tied into a pony tail and curious but weary eyes staring at him. Her clothing of boots, tank top and shorts left little to the imagination, revealing her slender and athletically frame.

Her gloved hands hovered closely to the pistols in her thigh holsters, indicating years of experience. But her body language was not hostile. He doubted she was an Insurrectionist, but then again, that was how terror cells worked, they did things that were unexpected.

"Popping the tube in five seconds, Chief," Cortana said. "Trust me on this."

A slow hiss rippled from the bottom of the tube as the hatch slid open. Stepping out onto the metal desk, a fine mist of condense air flowed out onto the metal grating. The woman in front of him took a step back, allowing him room to bring himself to his full height.

John could see something in her. But it wasn't fear. Surprise maybe, but fear wasn't something he'd describe her reaction.

He watched as she ran her eyes up and down his towering armored frame, eyeing him with caution.

"Cortana, who is this?" his deep voice emitted through the speakers in his armor.

The A.I's light blue, holographic lips, but the stranger stepped forward.

"My name is Lara Croft. Your 'friend' contacted me, saying you needed help."

The super soldier looked to A.I. and she nodded her head in agreement.

"I didn't have control and the power was running very low. I needed her to activate the tube so you can stay alive." Cortana lied. She could have activated the cryo-tube anytime, but she needed Lara to complete her plan.

He glanced at the woman.

"Thanks," he muttered

She waved off the gratitude and eyed from helmet to boots.

"That armor, where'd you get it?"

"It's an extra-atmospheric suit designed to be worn in orbital environments deemed extremely hazardous due to excessive radiation bombardment and debris," the AI answered with a white lie.

The Master Chief glanced at Cortana. He caught the fib, but he wondered why lie? Was she an Innie? Insurrectionists would have heard of him. Or was she one of the colonists from worlds that had hid themselves while the war waged all around them.

_"Long story short, Chief," _Cortana's voice rang over the private channels. _"We're on a twenty-first century Earth. Take that as you will."_

"Where's you're SOS?" The tomb raider questioned, so that she would know that the person could get home safely and she herself can get on with her own mission.

The Spartan raised his helmet to look back at the woman before him.

"No." Chief replied in his usual monotone and gravelly voice.

"Then how do you plan on getting back?" Lara's brow furrowed in slight annoyance.

"Actually, I was hoping to discuss that with you." Cortana interjected.

**...**

Lara Croft turned her attention to the female A.I. with her hands on her hips. She didn't say anything, but Cortana knew that she was listening.

"Well like what the big guy said, we can't contact our anyone, so we have no way of getting back to our organization." Cortana informed.

The globetrotter got slightly angry, though she did not show it physically. She knew where the conversation was heading, she knew what the computer was going to ask. But Lara was too disciplined to act on her anger, so she let Cortana finish.

"I was thinking that by some chance, you could let my friend go with you." The A.I. stated.

"Look I don't want to offend you and your friend, but I don't think he could keep up with me. I'm not exactly your typical archeologist on a fun hitch hike. I go on dangerous excavations in ancient ruins and temples built by extinct civilizations that are always life threatening. Your friend will only get killed and slow me down."

Cortana silently chuckled.

_If you only knew what John could do._ She mused herself in thought.

"I can see where you're coming from. I can assure you that he is not your average soldier either. He was taught by the greatest professionals that the world could offer. He was trained in ways that I cannot even disclose with you. His kind is the best at what they do, and he is the best of his kind."

Lara placed her hands on the terminal that was occupied by the Smart A.I. She leaned down to eye level and sent a glare to Cortana, to show that she stood her ground.

"I don't need a soldier."

"Oh, but I think you do Miss Croft."

Lara bit the inside of her cheek, the A.I. was starting to get on her nerves. However the young adventuress didn't show any sign of curiosity as it would have been a weakness to exploit on her end. But she let Cortana continue.

"There are several mercenaries located on this mountain, each armed with a lethal weapon, and ready to kill. Whatever you are looking for, they are looking for the same thing and they are fully capable killing to get what they want."

"I can very well handle myself. I had fought against odds far worse." she declared. She had killed men before and didn't need a bodyguard; not now or ever.

"Then let him help you, he can handle himself quite well too. And it might be the safest option for him to go with you as climbing down a mountain without any gear is not exactly safe. Besides this would be a great opportunity for him to repay you for helping him." Cortana argued.

Lara sighed with frustration, and pinched her fingers between her brow. She couldn't help, but to agree to the super computer's logic.

"You're not going to make this any easier are you?" Lara questioned.

"Nope." Cortana said, hands folded behind her back, resisting the urge to flash a mischievous smile.

Lara let go of the terminal and let out a tired sigh.

"Fine, your friend can come with me. But he better bloody well not slow me down."

"Thank you, Miss Croft. I promise, you won't regret it."

"If you don't mind I have a few things to do on my own, so can we hurry this up?" Lara said impatiently.

"I need to grab a few things." Chief said, ingoring the nod form the tomb raider, as he walked to the terminal that Cortana was on.

John pulled out a small chip from the back of his helmet and brought it close to the holographic avatar. Cortana shrank and then disappeared from the pedestal. The chip in Chief's hand glowed a brighter blue color, and he inserted it into the back of his helmet. A familiar cooling sensation washed over his body.

"Ah... its good to be back in here, Chief." Cortana said within the Spartan armor.

The Spartan then walked to the tube and picked up the MA5C Assault Rifle that he put on the rack, before he went to sleep in cryo. Finally the Master Chief proceeded to the armory to grab a few more weapons.

**_*Armory of the Forward Unto Dawn*_**

The Spartan picked up a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle and slung it over his shoulder, attaching the UNSC weapon to the magnetic plates on his back.

"Can we really trust her?" John asked Cortana.

"She seems trustworthy. I browsed through her files, before she came into the_ Dawn_. From what I read, she really is quite unique. Here I will transfer them to your armor."

Chief scanned over her files on his HUD, just like Cortana did. It didn't take long for the super soldier to search through the information sent to him.

"She seems… alright." Chief said as he picked up two frag grenades, two plasma grenades, two spike grenades, and two incendiary grenades.

Though he won't say it out loud, he was pretty impressed when he looked at Lara's files. The tomb raider had shown exceptional talent and skill throughout her entire life, and survived through difficult if not impossible situations for a normal human being.

"You've got to admit, if she was in our reality she would be a good candidate for the Spartan program." she said honestly.

He didn't respond to the comment that brushed closely to home, but merely move to a new topic.

"What was the lie you told her?" he asked as he picked up a Bubble Shield.

"I told her that we and the crew on this ship were a part of a secret government project to attempt long distance space travel for the United States on this experimental ship the Forward Unto Dawn. Our ship malfunctioned and crash landed here. Most of the crew is dead, except you and me."

"Not bad." he complemented as he picked up a M6G Magnum sidearm and attached it to his side.

"Don't bring half the ship with us, Chief. We will come back later. I'll a copy of me to fly us a Pelican to pick us up, when we're finished." The A.I. said.

"Can we leave the ship unprotected like this?"

"I have a solution. Ten deactivated Sentinels are on the ship, with Spark gone, I can rewrite their code so that they shoot anything on sight. They must have been left behind from the Ark. I think they were deactivated, when the Halo Installation fell apart back o the Ark. Once we leave, my copy will lockdown all areas of the frigate so nobody can break in. They'll keep the place nice and tidy until we get back." Cortana reassured the Master Chief.

He didn't respond, instead he grabbed various ammo and spare clips for the guns he was bringing.

"Look, I know we could be doing some other things like finding our way back home, but this Lara Croft needs our help. Some mercenaries are here and they will shoot on sight. Besides we are in the 21st century, and I would like to check out the ruins here. Can't you show a girl a good time?" she teased.

He shifted his gaze to the floor. He knew that he was alone on the strange world in a different universe, he didn't have his Spartan brothers and sisters like Kelly or Fred. No commanding officers of the UNSC like Lord Terrence Hood or any Marines. Not even the Arbiter who was on the front half of the_ Forward Unto Dawn_ when it split. The only one that John had was Cortana, his closest friend of all, who might be on her last moments of life before she thinks herself to death. And then he would have nobody, he would be all alone.

He finished gathering the ammo and stood there with thought on the situation. He was in the 21st century with more than likely no way home through this era's technology. He also didn't want to get an innocent woman killed, and he knew he could prevent it. He could help the tomb raider out, he had plenty of time to kill.

The super soldier went over to another rack and saw a Type-1 Energy Sword.

_Must've been left behind by an Elite_. he thought to himself.

He picked up the Sangheili weapon and examined it. Knowing from personal expeirence how deadly it was, he knew it would come in handy. He attached to it to his side like the handgun.

"Okay, we'll help her, and then maybe we can get into contact with the military." Chief said as he began walking back to the globetrotter's position.

"Thanks Chief. And who knows... maybe she can help us out in some way."

**_..._**

The A.I. and the Spartan walked through the UNSC frigate _Forward Unto Dawn_ to meet up with the female explorer. They first checked the cryo-room, where Lara Croft was last seen. But when the metallic doors swished opened, both only saw an empty room.

"She's gone." Sierra-117 stated in a monotone voice.

"Have a little more faith in her, Chief. She more than likely got cold in the cryo-room, and then moved to another room to warm up." Cortana reassured.

He couldn't help, but to agree to her logic for she has never steered him wrong. If it were any other person, Cortana wouldn't have let anyone aboard the, _Forward Unto Dawn_, from the likelihood of someone stealing their technology and information. But she seemed to put a lot of trust in this tomb raider and the A.I. had great talent for choosing people; it was how he and Cortana first met and became the unbreakable pair they were today. So, if Cortana trusted Lara, then maybe he should too.

The Spartan's boot clanked through the cryo-room with every step. When John reached the door on the other side, the mechanical door slid open, and there he saw, Lara. She stood in the room, with her hands running up and down her slender arms to conserve some heat. Cortana was right once again.

The young female adventurer turned and dropped her arms to her sides when she saw the seven foot, green armored goliath enter the room.

"Took your sweet time, didn't you." Lara joked with a smirk, but then saw that the guy was armed to the teeth and she asked, "Any reason why an exploration group is carrying strange weapons?"

Chief walked up to her with his UNSC MA5C Assault Rifle in his hands.

"You never know what you are going to find out there." he replied.

That statement rung true, but it was still disturbing. What kind of deep space expedition required the crew to be armed with military grade weapons?

_Does he mean aliens?_ Lara thought as it was the one thing that she has never met on her excavations. She then shrugged off the preposterous thought as it seemed too out of the ordinary.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. She looked deep into the man's visor to see a facial expression... or really even a face. But all she could she was a golden reflection of herself in the visor.

There was a brief moment of silence, but he nodded his head.

"Yeah."

"Alright, let's go." Lara stated. She couldn't help but to smile since she was finally leaving the strange wrecked ship that kind of gave her the creeps.

They walked through the back half of the UNSC ship the _Forward Unto Dawn_, with Master Chief not far behind the globetrotter. With each room that the pair left, the lights slowly died down to reserve whatever remaining power was left.

They had nearly left the crashed warship, but stopped when something caught the Spartan's eye on the floor. On the ground was the M363 Remote Projectile Detonator, otherwise known as the Sticky Detonator or Rocket Pistol.

Lara sensed that the green armored figure was not behind her, so she looked over her shoulder to check on the man. She saw that the person had indeed stopped and was looking at the same gun with the strange muzzle that she picked up earlier. Her curiosity and adventuress side was dying to know what the strange gun actually was, and no doubt he would know what it was. But she had to think rationally, since she was in a hurry to find the stone dias. She did not have time to ask many questions.

"Is everything alright?" Lara questioned with great patience.

"Yes." he simply replied.

The super soldier bent down on one knee and picked up the Rocket Pistol.

"Do we need to wait a while longer?" The adventuress asked, when she turned to face the armored person as he examined the pistol.

"No. You can go on ahead, I will only be a minute." the Master Chief said when he looked at Lara, but then directed his attention back to the Sticky Detonator.

"Okay, but don't take too long. I don't have a lot of time on my hands. I'll be right outside."

Lara informed and then turned and walked away to leave the ship.

"We can't keep her waiting. She said she was on a tight schedule."

"I know." The Spartan said in his usual gravelly voice.

"Are you thinking about bringing the Rocket Pistol?"

"Maybe."

"Well we can go back to th..." Cortana did not finish her sentence. "Chief! We got five contacts outside of the torn section of the _Dawn_!"

"Miss Croft is out there."

"We got to get out there! Hurry!" The A.I. exclaimed.

In an instant John turned and sprinted off in the direction Lara Croft went, with Cortana shouting one more command that echoed through the halls of the UNSC warship.

"Move, Spartan!"

**_*Somewhere close by the Forward Unto Dawn a few minutes earlier* _**

Two mercenaries for hire were on patrol. One of them was named Butch and the other Gary. They were your average, white American mercenaries, hired by a Senator's son named James Rutland. Both of them had dark hair, wore dark sunglasses, and with brown jackets and brown pants. A lot of the mercenaries had to dress alike, since it was one of Rutland's weird requests. It might have been to make Rutland seem more organized and authoritative, but no one knew for sure. The patrol was pretty boring and dull until that boredom made one of them speak.

"Hey," Butch started.

"Yeah?" Gary replied.

"You've ever wondered why we're here." Butch asked.

Gary turned to his comrade, "It's one of life's great mysteries isn't it. Why are we here? I mean are we the product of some cosmic coincidence? Is there really a God, watching over everything, you know with a plan for us and some stuff? I don't know man, but it keeps me up at night."

Butch's expression soured and sighed as he just shook his head, until he broke the silence.

"What? I mean why are we in here, patrolling mountains? "

"Oh…uh…yeah." Gary said.

"What was all that stuff about God?" Butch asked.

"Oh…uh… nothing."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No." Gary simply said.

"You sure?" Butch tried to get him to talk.

"Yeah." Gary shook his head up and down.

"Seriously why are we here? Far as I can tell we're looking for nothing. "Butch stated.

"Hmm-hmm." Gary agreed.

"Who would climb all the way up here and fight through guys like us, to just explore ruins that is probably filled with booby-traps guarding dust and dead bodies. Butch explained.

'What's up with that anyway? Wouldn't it be better if we were all in one place? Someone could kill us and nobody would even know. " Gary commented.

The walkie talkies in the pockets of the mercs went off. The two mercenaries quickly reached for their pockets and pulled out their communication devices and pressed them close to their ears. The mercenaries' boss, James Rutland, voice came through their radio with some slight static.

"Hey boys, can you go take care of a couple of tourists? They are close by, hiding in an old building up here in the mountain from an older exploration group. Now we don't need them poking around here. So, take care of them."

Butch brought the radio right up to his mouth,

"Right away Mr. Rutland." He then turned to Gary. "Hey let's get Dwayne, Rick, and Bob, I bet they'll want a piece of the action too."

"Heh, good call." Gary commented with a chuckle.

It only took a few moments for Gary to run and return with three other men dressed just like them.

"Hey, what's this about, Butch?" Rick, a blond merc asked.

"Rutland wants us to go and 'take care' of a few people on the mountain near the ruins." Butch informed with emphases on, take care.

"Oh hell yeah! Finally something to do on this god forsaken mountain!" Dwayne, a skinny, black male, basically bouncing with joy.

"Don't you guys think it's kind of weird that Rutland only called you two? Shouldn't he told all of us about some intruders? And how exactly would Rutland know that there are other people on the mountain? He's in the ruins with his weird goth girlfriend." Bob, a white male with a shaved head asked, while he scratched his bald head with curiosity.

The other four mercenaries turned and looked at Bob in silence, until Gary voiced what they all thought.

"Uhh... who the fuck cares?"

"Yeah, Bob. I'd rather shoot somebody than sit on my ass all day." Dwayne rudely commented which made Bob slump his shoulders sadly, which caused the others to laugh at him.

"Alright guys." Gary shouted while he pulled out his M-16. "Let's go get us some target practice." he ended with a vicious grin as he placed a new clip in his weapon.

"Yeah!"

"Whoo!"

"Let's do this!"

The mercenaries all cheered and pulled out their own M-16s. They then took off, running with excitement, to where the intruders were located.

Eventually they found a strange looking ship of some sorts that none of the men had any clue about or what it even was. The ship looked as if it was missing a huge chunk of it. But what really caught the mercenaries attention was the attractive lady standing at the torn section of the ship. She stood there with her folded arms across her chest, and her foot tapping on the ground a couple of times. It almost looked as if the woman was waiting on something, when a giant, dark-green armored goliath walked up behind her.

The mercenaries hid behind a few large rocks and trees to keep out of the woman's sight.

"Look at that hot piece of ass!" Gary said when he got a first look of the brunette lady in tight short clothes.

"If you shut up, we can jump her!" Butch pointed out.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just shoot her from here? Why should we risk gettig caught by walking up to her?" Bob questioned the other mercs' motives once more.

"Dammit, Bob! Just let us do it how we want, and then you can do whatever the hell you want!" Butch barked through tightly clenched teeth.

They raised their assault rifles at the brunette woman and slowly shuffled their feet out of their hiding spots.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here boys." Rick said out loud with a toothy grin on his smug face.

Within the blink of an eye, the woman pulled out her two pistols from their respective holsters and aimed them at the mercenaries.

"Woah." Bob muttered from seeing the woman move so fast, but he kept his weapon pointed at her anyway.

"Alright boys, we can do this the easy way..." the familiar sounds of the safety clicked off on the dual pistols, "...or the hard way."

All of them were surprised by how fast the woman moved, but they knew that four guns were better than two.

"Our boss doesn't want anyone around to disturb him on his little 'digging project'. So, I guess that means we'll do it the hard way." Butch said with an evil, cocky smirk and a menacing chuckle.

Suddenly, a hulking armored figure slammed into the ground between the mercenaries and the tomb raider. A tiny crater was created when the armored figured landed, with dust everywhere.

"Shoot them!" Dwayne shouted between splutters, as the dust got caught in his through and lungs.

_**...**_

Chief landed on the ground with a loud thud. The earth slightly crumbled at his feet, dust flown all around. The mercenaries jumped back, startled from the sudden appearance of the Spartan.

John looked at the mercenaries, analysizing them. There were five, all male, each one was armed with primitive M-16 assault rifles from the twenty-first century. It looked as if all of the mercs were wearing mountain coats, but no body armor to protect them against any ballistic firing. Three mercs on the left were easily four foot apart from each other while the other two on the right were fairly close to each other.

"Shoot them! Shoot them!" The African American mercenary cried out in between a series of coughs.

In the blibk of an eye, Master Chief raised his right arm that held the Rocket Pistol, towards the black male mercenary and pulled the trigger. The rocket/grenade shot out and hit the merc square in the chest with enough force that it knocked the breath out of hired gunman and made him hit the ground hard. The blond headed merc next to the African American mercenary turned his head to check on his fallen friend, and saw that the projectile was stuck to the merc's chest.

A small red trigger popped up at the back of the pistol, that served as a detonator. The Spartan-II pressed the detonator with his thumb, and then the merc he it with the sticky rocket/grenade exploded. Fortunately the other merc next to the African American was close enough to be in the blast radius, so both burnt bodies were sent flying in various directions.

The strange attack surprised the mercs so much that they briefly paused in horror from what they saw that happened to their former friends.

"Holy shit!" The mercenary in the middle swore at what transpired.

John-117 took advantage of the mercenaries pause and sprinted at the middle mercenary. A dark green blur flew in front of the middle merc, to which the merc tried to shoot at, but the Spartan held the merc's gun with the barrel pointed in the air shooting off some rounds. Chief then hit the merc's head with the butt of his pistol, which must have broken his skull when there was a sickening crack. Blood gushed from the mercenary's fatal head wound, but was still in the Spartan's grasp.

The last two mercenaries turned and shot their weapons at Chief, but the bullets never made contact with the Spartan. Instead the bullets just bounced off his yellow kinetic energy shield doing minimum to no damage. The futuristic super soldier then grabbed the dead mercenary with his left hand and threw his body at the nearest merc. The deceased merc's body collided with the closest man and sent them sprawling to the ground. With one mercenary left standing, Chief reached to his left side with one hand and pulled out his M6G Magnum and shot the last merc once, with the bullet hitting the hired man in-between the eyes. The dead mercenary fell flat on the ground, to never get back up again.

John walked over to the mercenary that he had thrown the dead body on earlier. It was just enough time for the mercenary to throw his dead friend off of him to only to find that Chief placed his heavy boot on his chest. Master Chief pointed his Magnum at the fallen merc's head.

"Aw damn." The mercenary swore a final time, before a bullet was shot into his head silencing him forever.

The Spartan holstered his UNSC standard fire arm to the magnetic plates on his side and removed his foot from the now dead merc. Chief turned around to see Lara had both of her pistols pulled out with a surprise look on her face.

"Are you alr..." he was about to ask, before he got interrupted.

"What the bloody hell was that!" Lara shouted.

"A reaction." Chief simply said.

"No I mean the bullets. You got shot! Why are you still standing?" Lara rephrased.

"We will explain that later. The best way I can put it for now is that we have good technology on our side." Cortana spoke through the MJOLNIR armor.

Lara was still surprised,

"Wait, the A.I. is with you?"

"Yes, I can be carried around in his armor through a neural interface. It allows me to travel with Chief anytime, and I can travel from the suit to any computer nearby." Cortana said through the suit's speakers.

Lara nodded, analyzing Cortana's words. _When we're done here, I'd like to ask them some more questions about the project they are attached to. I have never seen technology like that before, and he is far too skilled to just be your average government agent_. _I bet Zip would love to get a good look at Cortana and some of their tech, if he ever got the chance._

She forced her questions to the back of her mind, though, and with a small smirk, Lara started forward.

"Well, if we come across any more mercenaries, I'll be sure to leave them to you. Alright let's go we wasted enough time as it is." Lara said as she began to move with the Master Chief following behind her.

**_..._**

Cortana was quite happy on account her plan was going, so far it was exceeding without any problems. She then reviewed the plan inside her head.

Step 1: Find someone who can help John through this reality.

Step 2: Jam their signal with their contact and convince that person to "rescue" them. Which would build up a little trust between the two. The rescue would be a lie, but neither party would ever found out about it.

Step 3: Convince Chief to stick around and help the person.

Step 4: Contact a small group to locate the person and Master Chief and shoot at them. She knew that this was a bit risky, but she also knew Chief was more than enough to handle mere mercs with old fashion guns and bullets. The Spartan would show his abilities and keep the person alive while getting rid of the mercenaries.

_Chief exercised the plan perfectly. _She thought.

Step 5: Help the person through her mission and complete it. Which would build up more trust between the two and hopefully convince the person to stick around with them. She would help John live in this reality.

_Oh yeah, I better reactivate Lara's PDA and her headset. _Cortana reminded herself.

It was all going according to plan, her plan. John was filling in his role quite nicely and Lara's part was more than she thought possible, since Chief could help her on her dangerous expedition.

Cortana then thought,

_Soon John you will not need an old A.I. like me anymore. I have set a path for you, a mission if you would like to call it that. Your mission is to live a life you got taken away, and I bet this Lara Croft will be able to help quite nicely with that. I hope you won't take my death as a big burden for you have done something for me as well. You have treated me more like a person than a computer and have gone to hell and back for me and for that I am glad to be your partner... your friend. It wasn't just your luck, but your actions and your heart made me realize that I have chosen the right Spartan. I know you will complete this mission, like you always do, but I guess it won't hurt for me to stick around and help you through some things._

**_..._**

""Well, if we come across any more mercenaries, I'll be sure to leave them to you_. _Alright let's go, we wasted enough time as it is." Lara Croft said.

Chief merely nodded his head in agreement and followed her.

"Hello... Lara? Lara! About time I could reach you, are you alright?" Zip's voice finally came through Lara's headset

"Yes, I am fine Zip. There is no need to worry." Lara responded and placed her fingers on the device to make sure she could hear her allies clearly.

"Heh, told you." Alister chuckled.

"What happened? I can't figure out what could have blocked our signal." Zip asked.

Lara looked behind her to the Spartan as they walked.

"I had a little detour. I helped a little stranger. He will be accompanying us on our expedition through the lovely ruins. His friend had to disable our communications so she could contact me."

"Wait, what! So someone disabled our communications! How!" Zip yelled, which made Lara wince from the sudden loud burst of noise.

"Huh, and here we thought that it was a technical issue." Alister said, not sounding upset. "So where is this person you had to save?"

The tomb raider turned her head while walking to look at the soldier in dark green armor with a golden visor.

"Woah! What do you mean 'little stranger?' He's big! Are you sure you can trust him?" Zip said as he saw the Spartan through Lara's headset.

"Yes, Lara I'm not sure I trust him either." Alister spoke up through the headset.

Lara turned her head back to in front of her again after Zip and Alister both got a good look of the person she had helped.

"I have dealt with bigger things, besides you should have seen what he has done to a few mercenaries that were in our way." Lara replied with a smile on her lips.

"Do I really need to ask what he done to the mercenaries?" Zip said without a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Lets just say it was brutal, but effective."

Alister groaned in a sickly manner over the headset.

"I think that is all I need to know." Zip said somewhat disgusted, but then took a deep breath. "Well alright. But tell his friend that I would like to have a word with her about our comms." Zip said not completely trusting the armored giant.

"Will do, Zip." Lara said as she removed her hand from her headset.

The globetrotter turned her head to speak to the Spartan.

"I'm sure that there is more trouble ahead, so expect to use your weapons more."

"I always do." The Master Chief replied while he reloaded his Assault Rifle.

Lara smiled at him and then thought,

_He may have some use after all._

_"_Do I need to tell you where we are or about this place?"

"No, Cortana has already briefed me about Bolivia. But she does not know much about the ruins ahead."

"Good, I am searching for an artifact there, that is very important to me. After seeing what you have done to those mercs I think you might able to help me. If she was able to inform you about this place then does she know anything about those mercenaries back there?" Lara asked.

Cortana then spoke up through the speakers of the MJLONIR Mark VI armor

"I do actually know a few things about those guys. They were working for James Rutland. He was the son of a Senator from the United States. He's not the guy you want to trust. He has done some smuggling operations and he is not afraid to shoot a few wandering toursit. He also seems to collect artifacts too."

"Really? I think we should pay this James Rutland a visit." Lara said with a small smirk on her lips.

She began walking ahead with a thought brewing in her head,

_A portable super-computer and a walking green giant that knows how to use a gun. This is going to be interesting._

But the tomb raider wasn't the only one excited.

"Oh Chief, I think I'm going to like her." Cortana said in an almost giddy voice.

**New Author's Notes: And there you go, the rewritten version of chapter three for Halo/Tomb Raider crossover: The Lost Get Found. I would really like to thank Andirthir, WeepingCadver and Izangi God again, they had really help me a lot with this chapter. Rewritting chapter three was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and they helped me so much with the chapter such as writing examples, presenting ideas, beta-reading, and so much more.**

**I hope all of you liked the improvements made to the chapter. **

**Now I am having a vote on an important subject, should I kill off Cortana? If she lives she can help with information, enemies, taking control of machines and vehicles, etc. If she dies, Chief will be emotional and lost and Lara can help him through all that. So vote now! and REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok so far the votes for keeping Cortana alive is winning while votes for killing her a little behind. I am still accepting votes and on the next chapter I will post the winner and thanks for all the nice reviews, this is definitely my most popular story out of my three.**

**If my describing of places on this story are not good, you can check out what they really look like on Youtube. Just type in Tomb Raider Legend walkthrough. There you can see what the ruins and what everything looks like and I highly recommend you watch it before you read this. It will really help in understanding what everything looks like except the Halo parts. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to Bungie or 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

Chapter 4: Showing what they got.

**In the Bolivian Mountains **

It was a beautiful afternoon in the mountains of Bolivia; the sky a perfect light blue, the temperature surprisingly warm in the high mountain region, and the wind had a gentle and desirable gust to it. It seemed like any ordinary day for the average person, but there were three individuals on the terrain that were far from average.

Lara Croft and Master Chief were now traveling through the mountains of Bolivia. Lara backtracked to where she came through before she found the Spartan and the A.I, since it was the most effective way of getting into the ruins.

It was a simple trip and it only took a few moments for the globetrotter to get back on track to her destination.

As they jogged, Cortana asked a question that bugged her since they left the Dawn.

"So Miss Croft wh-"

"Just call me, Lara."

Cortana was caught off guard at how casual the explorer acted, since she first found them.

"Alright Lara, what are you doing here in Bolivia?"

"I've been looking for certain artifacts… well, for some time now, and an old friend working in La Paz has tipped me off about a rather promising rumor." Lara chose her words carefully, not wanting to reveal her whole story.

"What sort of artifacts?"

"An ornate stone dais, among other things." She said as she observe her surroundings to see where could she plot and reach her next checkpoint.

"Why? Are you trying to collect them?" Cortana asked.

"No and yes, but that is all you will get from me."

"Oh suspenseful aren't we?" the A.I. joked.

"It makes the day livelier, if I do say so." Lara replied, but then shifted her gaze to the armored soldier. "You know, you never told me told me your name."

"Call me Master Chief." He declared in his deep voice.

Disinformation. He didn't want her to know who he was… she couldn't blame him for being cautious. She had enough run ins with shady organizations. He had her secrets and she had her own as well, still she was suspicious of him**. **

She then spotted a vine that was growing out of the cliff face that looked like it could lead up to the waterfall through a series of climbing vines and holding onto ledges that were a part of the cliff. She leapt for the vine and began to ascend it at a rapid pace. Before launching to the next vine, Lara glanced down to the Spartan.

The super soldier merely stood there and watched how she impressively escalated up the thin green vines.

She sighed, she was worried that he might slow her down, and it appeared she was right. Cortana spoke highly of the soldier's amazing skills, but it almost seemed as if she lied, but then again the climb could prove challenging to some.

"Come on, its easier than it looks!" Lara yelled out.

"We'll catch up, go on ahead." Master Chief gestured lightly, looking up at the tomb raider.

She shrugged, leaping from the next vine to a rock jutting out of the cliffs that held the vines. She tucked and rolled on her landing to absorb the impact. She jogged for a few seconds and found another vine dangling in the air a few feet front in front of a cave. She climbed the vine and started to swing with it. She would thrust with every swing to gain more momentum.

Lara enjoyed how the air felt against her skin, as she swung. It made her feel more alive and excited. One of the many thrills she treasured on her adventures. But her enjoyment was cut off by a familiar voice.

"The video is going to make me sick if you keep swinging, Lara." Alistair complained through her headset.

"Look away from the screen then." She replied, picturing Alistair's face turning green.

As she swung on the vine, her mind could not help to wonder how the green armored man was faring through the vines and rocks. She did not see him behind her. She started to think that maybe she should go back and check on him. Or just keep going. If she made it to the waterfall, from up there she could spot an easier way for him to climb up. Unfortunately for Lara, she was unable to see the Master Chief make his way through the obstacle by his own way.

**...**

Though she was out of sight, the Spartan could hear the sound of taught vines swinging through the trees. Croft was still nearby, unwilling to leave without him.

"Chief, those vines and rocks won't hold you. We are going to have to find our own way up." Cortana said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

The vines and rocks weren't going to support his weight. He weighed a metric ton inside it. This would make climbing the mountains, somewhat tricky. He needed to find another up.

His eyes panned across the cliff and onto the waterfall. An idea came to mind.

"I found one." He simply said, leaving Cortana to wonder what he meant.

The green giant walked over to the rock wall and drew back his fists. In less than a heartbeat, the armored gauntlet smashed into the rocks, and tore away at the masonry. His work left two large gaping holes in the surface. He then booted the stone, creating another pair of ragged holes for his feet, large enough to be footholds.

"I think I see what you are doing here, Chief." Cortana observed.

He struck two more holes above him, and moved up by placing his hands in them with his feet in the spots where his hands used to be. He repeated this process for several more seconds. As he got higher and closer to the waterfall, his armor was sprayed by the gleaming water. Soon the waterfall soaked his entire form.

"Honestly, when was the last time you bathed?" Cortana asked.

Her comment was met with a familiar silence from the super only earned her silence from her friend that she was quite familiar with.

With minimum effort and under a short few seconds, he then reached the top of the waterfall.

"Kind of old fashioned, but effective, caveman." Cortana joked.

Chief scanned the area for the tomb raider, but saw nothing.

"She isn't here." He said.

"Patience Chief, she'll be here in a little bit. She just doesn't have the augmentations that you have." Cortana reassured.

He grunted in response, while wondering how long would he have to wait.

**...**

Having gained enough momentum, Lara jumped off the vine. She sailed in the air and through a sheet of water, tumbling into the valley below in a waterfall fashion, before landing in a narrow cave on the far side. She waited a second for her eyes to adjust to the relative dimness of the cave after the blinding sun outside.

"Hey Lara, you said there was some other person with that guy. I didn't see anyone else?" Zip said through the headset.

"It's complicated Zip. I will explain it later." she picked her way over the pitted floor of the cave.

"Did the person stay behind or still has radio contact?" Zip asked.

"Like I said, its complicated." she repeated agitatedly.

Lara came back out into the sun and squinted. She sighed, as the sun's orange rays warmed her skin. She scanned the rock face for a way back over to the waterfall, where she would be able to follow the riverbed.

There was a narrow ledge that ran all the way back to the river mouth.

_How fortuitous_. she thought, and jumped to grab a hold of it.

Moving her hand over the other down the ledge, she dropped herself and landed safely on the rock. There was a long thin ledge that seemed like it led to the river mouth. She grabbed a hold of it and started scooting her way towards the river mouth.

"You don't trust them, do you?" Zip abruptly asked over the radio.

Lara was momentarily taken aback by his tone. It wasn't often that the hacker regarded people with such…dislike. It was almost as if they had personally attacked him…ah, Cortana. How could she have forgotten?

"Their story does seem a little…far-fetched, doesn't it?" Alister added. While he was also sceptical, he was at least open to other possibilities.

"What would make you think I trust them?" Lara asked.

"Uh…I don't know." Zip answered drily. "Maybe the lack of questioning or the fact that you're bringing them along?"

Lara resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Let me get this straight; you want me to interrogate a soldier who easily killed five mercenaries before I could even fire a single shot?"

Zip hesistated.

"…maybe."

"No I don't trust him," she replied. "I don't believe their story either. A secret government project?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"You have seen your fair share of government secrets." Alister agreed. "But something doesn't feel right. I mean did you see the big guy's armour? I'm not seeing an alternative explanation that explains that."

Alister had a point. There were very few things that could explain the ship or Chief's gear…or the cryo-chamber for that matter, but everything that came to mind belonged in a sci-fi movie. It was true that some ancient civilisations had developed items that were far beyond their time…though there was something about the way Cortana and Chief behaved that led Lara to believe they weren't entirely familiar with their environment. It could have something to do with being in a remote area of Bolivia…but still.

"So…we kicking them to the curb?" Zip asked with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Lara considered the question for a moment.

"No…not yet, at least."

"What? Why not?" Zip demanded.

"I haven't exactly been up front with them either." Lara explained with a small shrug. "They must have their reasons for lying. Chief helped me out and if he wanted to kill me, he could have just let those mercenaries do it. He was under no obligation to intervene."

"So…what?" Zip asked carefully. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

"I don't think Chief and Cortana are enemies or allies yet. I need a little more research on them." Alister pointed out.

"Zip, Alister, put whatever issues you have aside and look at it like this: whatever they've told us, they need help." Lara argued. "We can't sit by and ignore that. Would you rather they were helping James Rutland?"

"No." Zip grumbled sulkily.

"I appreciate what both of you are doing." Lara continued gently. "I know you have my best interests at heart, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We'll see how things go. Chief's fighting may come in handy later on or we may go our separate ways."

Alister cleared his throat.

"Lara has a point. Right now, we don't know much. Just take it one step at a time."

"Agreed?" she asked.

Zip sighed in defeat.

"Agreed. Just…watch your back. He might be nice to you until you are no longer useful."

"I thought that's what I have you for." she teased. "I'll be careful, Zip."

Lara got the distinct feeling that Zip and Alister were not going to let the matter drop.

When she finally reached the river mouth, she was stunned to see the green armored man was already there.

"How did you get here so bloody fast?" Lara said, flabbergasted.

The Spartan turned towards her.

"I found an easier way." Chief simply said.

The globetrotter squinted her eyes at him, but then let out a sigh. She did not have the time to waste on arguing.

"Fair enough. You could at least have told me there was a more simple route."

Lara did not completely believe him, for if there was another way up to the riverbed she would have found it.

_This man is hiding a lot of information, too much. S_he thought to herself, eyeing him carefully.

Chief merely shrugged his shoulders.

Lara began squeezing the excess water out of her hair and brushing herself down, when a rumbling hit the cave. She glanced up to see a large boulder come loose and start rolling down the riverbed towards her and the Spartan.

"Run!" Croft roared, sprinting towards the waterfall.

Time slowed for her; she took advantage of that by checking her surroundings. Lara noticed her companion was not running, but instead he stood his ground as the boulder came rolling at him.

"What the hell is he doing?" Both Alistair and Zip exclaimed as they saw what was happening in front of her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing? Run!" Lara hollered.

Chief merely bent his knees and held out his arms.

Lara closed her eyes, not wanting to see the gruesome sight she was sure was about to unfold. After waiting a few seconds and not hearing bones or metal crunching, She gave a little peek with one of her eyes. She then opened both of her eyes at the surprising sight in front of her. Instead of being crushed, the green armored man was holding the massive boulder like it was some sort of light box with his arms.

Chief turned around and tossed the boulder off the waterfall like it was a block of wood. He then faced the wide eyed globetrotter.

"We need to keep moving."

"You picked that boulder up and threw it, like it was nothing!" Lara said breathlessly. "Now what exactly was that?"

It was at that moment, Cortana spoke up.

"The armor increases the wearer's strength. Great for heavy lifting and you never know what you need when you're exploring the unknown." Cortana partially lied. Though the MJOLNIR does greatly increase someone's strength, but a Spartan already had super-strength from the augmentations.

Lara wasn't entirely sure on their story, but was thankful that he was able to prevent the classic Indiana Jones moment. She nodded.

"Right, let's go."

"That was close. I wonder what else he can do?" Zip asked through Lara's headset.

"I don't know Zip, but I have a feeling that we are about to find out." Miss Croft replied.

Lara couldn't hep but to wonder about the mysterious armored man. She wanted to focus on the mission, but this person was no normal human being. He was something different, something not quite what she has ever encountered before.

She began trekking up the riverbed with the Spartan and A.I behind her. The sun at her back began to dry her hair and clothes. Both her shorts and her top were waterproof, the top was a rustic shade of chocolate brown that matched her hair. It was of course short sleeved and came to a point just below her ribs, leaving her stomach and sides mostly bare, it was the best way to stay cool in this weather.

She stopped dead; her path blocked by yet another waterfall, although this one was substantially lower. The tomb raider spotted a tree limb that would get her above the obstacle. She sprinted ahead and propelled herself at the branch. The first chance she got, Lara grasped onto the tree branch, shaking the limb slightly. She flipped up onto it testing its strength. Satisfied that it would hold her lightweight, she launched herself off of it to grab a hold of the top of the waterfall. This time she avoided a dousing and got a grip on at one side while the water flow.

Though John wouldn't admit it out loud, he was kind of impressed at how acrobatic and flexible this Lara Croft was. She could have been helpful against the Covenant. She might have also been a great candidate for the Spartan program like Cortana said, or at least a trainer for young Spartans.

"You know, you could have just walked up to the river and helped her up there. She wouldn't have to perform all those fancy flips." Cortana suggested to her oldest friend.

"She seems fine," John-117 simply replied.

"Yeah well, try to speak up more. We can make this trip a lot easier than it has to be. I hope you are not afraid to help a girl, Chief." Cortana teased though it sounded more like a challenge.

The Spartan didn't respond, but trudged through the rough water like if it wasn't even there. He then saw a red dot on his motion sensor on the radar inside his helmet's HUD. He also heard a male voice beyond the mini-waterfall.

"We got company." Chief warned Lara and Cortana.

"I don't see any climber." The voice came from the river channel above Lara.

She ducked back down holding herself as close to the cliff face as she could to avoid being seen, and hoped her hands were hidden by the small amount of brush on the narrow river bank.

"I got all worked up thinking I could put someone down." The male said, though no other voice had joined him.

_He must be talking to someone on a radio._ Lara surmised in her head.

"Yeah well, I can't shoot on sight if I can't see nothing." He protested, his voice becoming more distant as he walked away from her.

Silently, Lara jumped up onto the river bank and pulled the grapple gun from her belt. The small device fired a magnetic dart that latched onto metal targets and was attached to a length of nylon cable that made it good for climbing, if there was metal nearby, that was. It was also excellent for pulling things around, just like now.

The merc felt a sharp tug from behind, that brought him face first to the dirt. He tried to pull himself back up, but Lara ran up and kicked him back down. The mercenary went for the submachine-gun on the strap around his neck, and got a couple of shots off, but they went wide as Lara punted the weapon away. The merc growled and pulled out a combat knife that was strapped to his knee. He swiped at Lara, but she quickly leaped back.

The man picked himself back up, with his knife ready to draw blood.

Lara prepared herself bringing her fist up. She knew she would need to be fast and agile to avoid being slashed.

The merc charged at the brunette woman, dust flying behind him. He went for an overhead slice, but the woman narrowly ducked. He tried to cut open her stomach, but she hopped back. For a final attempt, he went to stab her in the chest.

In one motion, the tomb raider pushed the knife arm aside, and sent a quick jab to his outstretched elbow. The man hollered in pain, dropping the combat knife. Lara spun and delivered and strong kick to the merc's chest pushing him far back. The kick also had the affect of putting him off balance and he toppled backwards off the waterfall.

Instead of a sickening thud, Lara heard a hiss with the guy's grunt. She wondered over at the edge of the waterfall and looked at the sight below her. The merc she just threw off was pierced through his entire torso by an energy-like dual point sword that the Spartan held up the air. Lara was once again surprised, though not at the sight, but the weapon Chief had.

"Woah! Since when did this guy start carrying a lightsaber?" Zip said over the comm, almost drooling at such a weapon.

Chief deactivated the energy sword and let the body fall to the ground. He then leaped up and landed on the edge right by the tomb raider, something Miss Croft had to use her acrobatic skills for. He looked at the brunette before him, except she had her hands reaching for her dual psitols.

"Alright, what the hell are you?!" Lara shouted at the green armored goliath.

"We told you, we're from a black ops..." Cortana started to respond, but was cut off by the explorer.

"Rubbish! Did you really think I would believe all that? Just look at your armor and weapons! No military would have technology like yours! Now tell me the truth or I leave you behind! Who are you and where are you really from?" the tomb raider pushed, ready to make a daring move if she didn't get the correct answer.

Lara's heart raced like a motor, readying herself to react on a moment's notice. Her eyes shifted over the Spartan's massive form, trying to detect even a subtle action from him, but he stood there like a statue. She could've sworn she heard the familiar sound of something beating against the air above her.

Instantly she looked up, where two helicopters raced overhead through the clear sky, cutting a knife through the tension in the air.

"And here come the bloody tourists to spoil it all." Lara growled, she then turned to Master Chief and said, "Stay here, we're not finished yet."

The British explorer jogged up the path, hoping to deal with a more intermediate problem. Answers would have to wait for later about the mysterious soldier and his advanced computer.

She got down on one knee and pulled out her electronic binoculars to see the pre-Incan ruins and its entrance. The ancient foundation was under a cave, hidden from any satellites and travelers. Only the stone beams on the sides held the rocks up, so it wouldn't collapse and seal all of its secrets forever. A large but worn out, stone-made staircase led up to the doorway, somewhat similar to a Mayan's temple. There were pillars and walls around the entrance of the ruins that was like a little maze. The entrance itself was a wide, rectangular shape that had some steps that lead to the remnant site.

In front of the ruins was a broad dirt area, dotted with small patches of grass. Unfortunately it was certainly wide enough for two helicopters to land and an SUV to park. Several armed men piled out of the vehicles like ants from their hill. Eight mercenaries from each helicopter and six from the automobile, all quickly assuming defensive positions.

"Twenty-two? Smashing." Lara sarcastically swore under her breath.

"Your cam doesn't pick up details that small. What do you see?" Zip asked over the radio.

"Several men with guns. Mercenaries working for Rutland by the looks of them."

"Sounds like a bit of a hand full, Lara, even for you." Alister added in.

The tomb raider let out a low sigh.

"Yes, this might be a problem."

It was then a large green blur jolted past her, leaving a gust of wind and her brown hair blowing.

**End chapter. Not my best writing, but I'm so glad to finally be done with this chapter. It was incredibly hard to rewrite, but bad or good, I'm happy that its finished.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright I know what some of you might be asking, "Why haven't you updated in almost two years?!" Well I've been updating this story, just not with new chapters. I have went back and rewrote all of the older chapters for this crossover, twice! I fixed a lot of old mistakes, grammar issues, and tense problems. Plus added a few things here and there. If you want to check them out then feel free, it took me awhile to finish them. I would like to thank Andirithir and Lord Izangi for they have made this story ten times better than it was back then. Be sure to read their own stories, they are amazing writers. I apologize for the extremely long wait. Life and college has kept me very VERY busy, still I am working on all of my fics.**

**And as proof that I am still working on this story, here is a teaser/trailer for the next upcoming chapter. Now some of you reviewers have already seen it. Reviewers always get special privileges when they review. I like to show them what I am currently writing, bounce ideas off them, take suggestions, and even simply chat. I will be happy to oblige anyone. **

**I do feel terrible leaving a teaser/trailer, since its well... a preview. But I just want to show all of you that I am indeed working on this story. The teaser/trailer will be removed once the full chapter is ready.**

**This picks up immediately after the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Tomb Raider. Halo belongs to 343 Industries now, Tomb Raider belongs to Crystal Dynamics**

Chapter preview 5: Stretching His Legs

***In the Bolivian mountains near the ruins of Twuinaka* **

"Alright, what the hell are you?!" Lara shouted at the green armored goliath.

"We told you, we're from a black ops..." Cortana started to respond for her companion, but was quickly cut off by the explorer.

"Rubbish! Did you really think I would believe all that? Just look at your armor and weapons! No military would have technology like yours! Now tell me the truth or I leave you behind! Who are you and where are you really from?" the tomb raider pushed, ready to make a daring move if she didn't get the answer she wanted.

Lara's heart raced like a motor engine, preparing herself to react on a moment's notice. Her eyes shifted over the Spartan's massive form, trying to detect even a subtle action from him, but he stood there like a statue. Except she could've sworn she heard the familiar sound of something beating against the air above her.

Breaking the intense stare down the Chief looked up, and instantly she mirrored his action. True to their ears, two helicopters raced overhead through the clear sky, cutting a knife through the tension in the air.

"And here come the bloody tourists to spoil it all." Lara growled as her brown eyes followed the helicopters' trail.

She then turned to the Master Chief.

"Stay here, we're not finished yet."

Not waiting for a response, the British explorer jogged up the path, hoping to deal with the more intermediate problem. Answers would have to wait for later about the mysterious soldier and his advanced computer.

She ran up the hill that gave her a strong bird's eye view of the layout of Twuinaka. Lara got down on one knee and pulled out her electronic binoculars to see the pre-Incan ruins and its entrance. The ancient foundation was under a cave, hidden from any satellites and travelers. Only the stone beams on the sides held the rocks up, so it wouldn't collapse and seal all of its secrets forever. A large but worn out, stone-made staircase led up to the doorway, somewhat similar to a Mayan's temple. Various boulders and rocks dug into the ground in front of it, no doubt from the acts of erosion.

But before all of the ruins, was a very wide open area with only dirt and small patches of grass. It could perhaps be half the size of a American football field. Unfortunately it was certainly broad enough for two helicopters to land and a SUV to park. Several armed men piled out of the vehicles like ants from their hill. Eight mercenaries from each helicopter and six from the automobile, all armed with rifles. They lined up in a single file line. Only one stood out, pacing in front of them, obviously the commanding officer issuing orders.

"Twenty-two? Smashing." Lara sarcastically swore under her breath.

"Your cam doesn't pick up details that small. What do you see?" Zip asked over the radio.

"Numerous men with guns. Mercenaries working for Rutland by the looks of them."

"Sounds like a bit of a hand full, Lara, even for you." Alister added in.

The tomb raider let out a low sigh, knowing that her friend was right. The odds were not in her favor.

"Yes, this might be a problem." she replied.

"So do you got a plan?" Alister questioned.

Lara bit the inside of her cheek in irritation. She knew the only way she would have any chance in such a one-sided fight, was that she needed to use stealth and precision. But her idea was blown out of the water since it was broad daylight outside, and sneaking up on all of them in a spacious area would be strenuous. Not to mention she would have to be quiet as a mouse while sliding down a rocky hill. She was indeed in quite a predicament.

"Well..."

It was then a large green blur jolted past her, leaving a gust of wind blowing against her lengthy brown hair, taking her breath with it.

"Woah!" Zip shouted in surprise.

"What was that?" Alister cried out.

"I'll give you both one guess." Lara replied, while she watched through her binoculars once more.

...

The Spartan leaped up into the air, and landed with a loud thud, creating a cloud of dust around him.

Every mercenary instantly spun back and aimed their automatic weapons at him.

"I count twenty-two targets, Chief. All of them carrying very primitive guns like the mercenaries before. It seems that they are also equipped with an outdated bullet proof vest, but our weaponry should pierce right through them easily. I believe this is a good chance to stretch your legs after that cryo-nap. Want me to start a timer?" Cortana quipped.

John-117' trained his battle rifle at the center man, finger on the trigger.

"Yeah."

...

"What the fuck is that thing?" one of the mercenaries asked.

All of the hired gunmen kept their fire arms zeroed in on the armored giant. Once the dust cleared, they weren't sure what they were looking at. Standing easily seven feet tall, covered from head to toe with intimidating green armor, complete with a full helmet and a golden reflective visor. On top of that it was carrying unusual weapons, and enough to fight a small war.

A mixture of questions and accusations broke out between the mercenaries.

"Does anyone know what that thing is?"

"Is... is that a robot?"

"You've been watching too many sci-fi movies. Rutland never said anything about it, so it ain't on our side."

"Should we radio the boss?" another mercenary asked next to the captain of the mercs.

"No. It's just one against all of us." the captain declared. He stepped in front of his group as he let his rifle relax against his shoulder, a sure sign of his confidence.

"Alright buddy just put down your guns and walk away. There's no chance of you surviving. Unless..."

His sentence was finished when a trio of loud barks and vapor trailed the thing's rifle. In a flash, the lead merc's head was ripped off, so fast that they could hardly see the thing raise its rifle.

Before the mercenaries's mostly headless body hit the ground the world seemed to end.

...

"Talking was never really one of your strong suits."

Proving that Cortana was right, John remained silent and shifted his target to the rest of the twenty-one odd mercenaries that were in his way.

**I hope you enjoyed the preview. A taste of what is to come; the Master Chief duking it out with some mercenaries.**

**I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. **

**The next on my update list my Halo/Mass Effect crossover: 'From Hell to Hell.'**

****Now to respond to Guest reviews. Yes, I use to write all the reviews in the chapters but since I always respond to reviewers with profiles personally, well seems pointless in repeating myself to that reviewer. So in a nutshell, if you have a profile and review, I will respond by messaging you back. If you review as a Guest review, then you will have to wait until the next chapter to see you're response. Yes I do respond to all reviews, my sign of appreciation.****

**ShinigamiMaster: Thanks for trying to help, and taking interest in the story, but I'm not accepting any OCs at the moment.**

**Blank: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. And no, it's not an Elite or Johnson on the ship. **

**sealking: I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. And the thing on the ship is neither an Elite nor a Spartan. But you're not the only one to guess them.**

**TheRedJ0ker: I actually have a lot of plans for the Master Chief being put out of his comfort zone.**

**Hi: Hopefully soon.**

**Guest1: I love the idea, it's very good. I'm debating if I want to go with or with something I already planned. Honestly it's a tough decision.**

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